Southern Company Breach Exposes Data of 400,000 Customers
Southern Company detected a cyberattack on its online customer portal that exposed limited account information for 400,000 customers across Georgia and Alabama.
An unauthorized third party accessed the online customer portal of Southern Company, exposing limited account information for approximately 400,000 customers across its utility subsidiaries. The breach impacted roughly 300,000 Georgia Power customers and 100,000 Alabama Power customers, the latter representing about 6% of its 1.6 million customer base.
Compromised data includes customer names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers or business tax identification numbers. Southern Company confirmed that full Social Security numbers, bank account details, credit or debit card numbers, and driver's license numbers were not involved in the incident.
Upon detecting the suspicious activity, the company took immediate steps to stop the access and engaged law enforcement. A subsequent investigation found no evidence of ongoing unauthorized access. Southern Company is currently notifying affected individuals and providing one year of free credit monitoring and identity-theft restoration services through Equifax.
