AT&T; Says Hacker Stole Customers’ Private Data

Hackers accessed a computer system and stole credit card information and personal data from thousands of customers who bought digital subscriber line equipment from AT&T; Inc. online, the company said.

AT&T; said the data of fewer than 19,000 customers were affected by the weekend breach before it shut the online store. AT&T; said it would pay for credit monitoring for the people whose files were accessed.

The San Antonio-based telephone company alerted the major credit card companies whose customer accounts were affected. It also notified customers by e-mail, phone and letter. A spokesman said no fraudulent charges had been reported.