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If you’re reading this, something worth knowing just happened.
TODAY’S TECH ALERT
Home insecurity system
Image: ChatGPT
⚡ TL;DR
ADT confirmed a breach. A hacker group claims 10 million records. Have I Been Pwned puts the count at 5.5 million people affected.
Stolen: names, addresses, phone numbers and, in some cases, partial Social Security numbers.
Home security companies are a prime target. If you have any home security account anywhere, you need to take five steps now.
📖 Read time: 3 minutes
The company paid to protect your home got burglarized. For the third time.
If you’ve ever given a home security company your address, your phone number and your daily routine, pay attention. That’s exactly what got exposed.
ADT confirmed hackers broke into their systems on April 20 and walked off with customer data. A group called ShinyHunters claims they grabbed more than 10 million records. ADT calls the damage “limited.” But Have I Been Pwned, an independent breach-tracking site that security researchers trust, counted 5.5 million people affected. That’s a lot of limited.
😳 What got taken and how
We’re talking names, phone numbers, home addresses. In some cases, dates of birth and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. ADT says no payment info was touched and your actual alarm system wasn’t compromised.
They didn’t hack their way in. They talked their way in. Someone called an ADT employee, pretended to be tech support and walked right through the front door. One phone call. That’s all it took to access data belonging to millions of customers.
And with just your name and address, scammers can target your home with frightening accuracy. Fake service calls. Highly convincing texts that reference your real street address. Voicemails that sound like your security company.
You’ve been warned about generic phishing. This is personal.
🔓 It’s not only ADT
This is ADT’s third confirmed breach in under two years. August 2024. October 2024. Now April 2026. That tells you something important. This isn’t bad luck.
The entire home security industry is a target. Your account holds your name, your address, your schedule and your contact details. That’s everything a criminal needs.
Now about those last four digits of your Social Security number. Don’t fall for the “it’s just the last four” trap. In many states, the first five digits of your SSN are determined by your birth year and where you were born.
If a hacker already has your date of birth and your hometown (both sitting right there on your Facebook profile), those last four digits are the final piece of the puzzle. They don’t have part of your SSN. They have all of it.
If you have an account with ADT, Ring, SimpliSafe, Vivint, Brinks or any home security service, stop reading for 60 seconds and go change your password. Make it unique. Not your dog’s name. Not your street number. I’ll tell you how to protect yourself below.
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🔑 Lock it down
Change your home security account password right now. Every service, not only ADT.
Change your physical keypad master code, too. If you’ve been using the same four-digit code since you moved in, change it today. And make sure it’s not the last four digits of your phone number. Which the hackers have.
Turn on two-factor authentication under Settings > Security > Two-Step Verification.
Watch for phishing. Scammers have your real details. If something feels urgent and scary, slow down. That panic is their product.
Freeze your credit if your Social Security number was involved. It’s free, and it stops anyone from opening new accounts in your name. You can find steps here on my site.
Your alarm system didn’t get broken into. The company behind it did.
🗣 TEXT/POST THIS STAT
ADT confirmed its third data breach in under two years. If you have a home security account anywhere, go change your password. Your name, address and partial Social Security number may already be out there. More at GetKim.com.
📩 Send this to that one person you know who’s been using the same alarm code since they moved in. You know exactly who I’m talking about.
Photo credit(s): ChatGPT