Frontier Communications is latest company hit by cyberattack

By Emily Bary

Stock falls after disclosure, though Frontier says cyber incident not expected to 'materially impact' financials

Frontier Communications Parent Inc. disclosed a cyberattack Thursday that exposed personally identifiable information, though the company doesn't expect the incident to impact its financials in a meaningful way.

The telecommunications company discovered on Sunday that a third party obtained access to parts of its information-technology environment. Through Frontier's (FYBR) initial investigation, it has "determined that the third party was likely a cybercrime group, which gained access to, among other information, personally identifiable information," it said in a securities filing late Thursday.

Frontier now believes that the incident has been contained. After it initially shut down some of its systems as part of its containment protocols, its core environment is back up and running, and Frontier is "in the process of restoring normal business operations."

A message on the company's main website says that Frontier is "experiencing technical issues with our internal support systems" but that internet service for customers isn't affected.

The company, which offers phone, internet and TV services, disclosed that it has notified law enforcement and is working with cybersecurity experts as it keeps investigating the incident.

Frontier "does not believe the incident is reasonably likely to materially impact the company's financial condition or results of operations," it said.

Shares were falling more than 3% in Thursday's after-hours action.

The company joins a roster of others that have seen recent cyber incidents. UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), for instance, recently disclosed that it expects a cyberattack on its Change Healthcare unit to reduce this year's earnings by more than $1 billion.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (HPE) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) have also disclosed hacks this year.

-Emily Bary

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04-18-24 1728ET

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