AT&T and T-Mobile strengthen security as AI takes on network tasks

AT&T and T-Mobile are increasing spending on cybersecurity as they expand their use of artificial intelligence, executives said on October 23. The operators are seeking to protect customer information and communications infrastructure while automating more network tasks.

T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer John Saw said the carrier is investing more in monitoring and responding to threats. It is also working with suppliers to close security gaps promptly. Previous breaches, including incidents in 2021 and 2023, affected more than 100 million customer accounts cumulatively.

AT&T Chief Technology Officer Jeremy Legg said risks involving outside software suppliers and AI agents cannot be addressed by individual operators alone. He also questioned whether open-source developers apply comparable security standards.

AT&T said its safeguards include encryption, multi-factor authentication and human supervision of access to data. The company is also working to establish whether outside AI agents requesting customer-account access genuinely represent those customers.

Legg said fully autonomous networks remain years away, with people still needed to resolve complex problems. AT&T already uses AI to examine trouble tickets, suggest fixes and sometimes carry out repairs automatically. T-Mobile uses the technology to reposition cell-site antennas to help cover areas affected by nearby outages.

During Winter Storm Fern in January, T-Mobile’s self-organizing network restored coverage to about 66% of customers within an hour and 90% within eight hours, Saw said. Most customers recovered service before electricity returned, he added.