AT&T vs T-Mobile

T-Mobile Technician Cuts Cable to Thwart Salt Typhoon Hack

A T-Mobile technician literally cut a cable to stop the Chinese Salt Typhoon cyberespionage campaign, as reported by Bloomberg. In autumn 2024, Salt Typhoon infiltrated nine major US telecom companies, including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, compromising routers and accessing metadata of millions of customers. T-Mobile's security team discovered an unusual router in its California data center that was communicating despite being offline. Tracing the signal, they found a manipulated router at another telecom company in Chicago, posing as a T-Mobile device. A technician drove to the site and cut the router's cable with scissors, successfully halting the attack. The router was later re-activated in an isolated test environment, but the attackers had already disappeared. T-Mobile's CIO Jeff Simon stated the hackers never accessed customer data, and the severed cable is now displayed in a frame as a memento of the incident.

• Salt Typhoon attacked 200+ targets across 80 countries in autumn 2024.
• Nine major US telecoms were hacked, including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
• T-Mobile technician cut a router cable in Chicago to stop the attack.

AT&T, Crocs, Southwest Detail Cautious AI Agent Adoption

At Salesforce's Dreamforce event, executives from AT&T, Crocs, and Southwest Airlines shared their realistic approaches to deploying AI agents. They emphasized that while automation improves efficiency, human interaction remains critical, especially in sensitive areas like cancellations or 'right here, right now' customer issues. AT&T uses AI to cut phone upgrade times but reserves human intervention for cancellations. Southwest uses chatbots for servicing but relies on humans for empathetic support. Crocs uses an AI chatbot 'Rivet' but insists on keeping 'a human in the loop' and stresses the importance of a solid data foundation. The article also notes Salesforce's Agentforce adoption (about 20% of its customers) and highlights DE&PT's consumer survey showing decline in comfort with AI as autonomy increases. AI safety debates between Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Jensen Huang were also discussed, with contrasting views on regulation and safety.

• Salesforce's Agentforce is used by about 30,000 customers, roughly 20% of its 150,000 customer base.
• AT&T uses AI to reduce phone upgrade times from 30 to 10 minutes, but keeps humans for cancellations.
• Crocs has deployed an AI agent named Rivet for consumer chat and voice, and uses AI internally for developer tasks.

AT&T Blog Updates: New Posts on AI Networks, NYSE Milestone, and More

The AT&T blog page has been updated with new posts, including 'Why Enterprise Networks Need to Adapt for the AI Era' (Sept 10, 2026), 'AT&T: Built to Keep Up With What's Next' (Sept 09, 2026), 'AT&T and Mynd Immersive are Making a Change for Older Adults' (Sept 03, 2026), and '125 Years on the New York Stock Exchange: A legacy built for the future of connectivity' (Sept 03, 2026).

T-Mobile Technician Cuts Cable to Thwart Salt Typhoon Hack

A T-Mobile technician literally cut a cable to stop the Chinese Salt Typhoon cyberespionage campaign, as reported by Bloomberg. In autumn 2024, Salt Typhoon infiltrated nine major US telecom companies, including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, compromising routers and accessing metadata of millions of customers. T-Mobile's security team discovered an unusual router in its California data center that was communicating despite being offline. Tracing the signal, they found a manipulated router at another telecom company in Chicago, posing as a T-Mobile device. A technician drove to the site and cut the router's cable with scissors, successfully halting the attack. The router was later re-activated in an isolated test environment, but the attackers had already disappeared. T-Mobile's CIO Jeff Simon stated the hackers never accessed customer data, and the severed cable is now displayed in a frame as a memento of the incident.

• Salt Typhoon attacked 200+ targets across 80 countries in autumn 2024.
• Nine major US telecoms were hacked, including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
• T-Mobile technician cut a router cable in Chicago to stop the attack.

MNTN Appoints Mike Katz to Board

MNTN, a technology platform for performance marketing on Connected TV, announced that Mike Katz has joined its Board of Directors. Katz, a veteran of T-Mobile where he served as Chief Business & Product Officer and continues as a Strategic Advisor to the CEO, brings nearly three decades of experience in growth, innovation, and brand building. He is credited with helping shape T-Mobile's Un-carrier strategy and expanding its scope into broadband, advertising, and digital customer experiences. MNTN's CEO, Mark Douglas, expressed confidence that Katz's experience will be invaluable as MNTN enters its next phase of growth. Katz's appointment adds to MNTN's leadership bench as the company invests in new initiatives.

• Mike Katz joined MNTN's Board of Directors.
• Katz is former Chief Business & Product Officer at T-Mobile and continues as Strategic Advisor to the CEO.
• Katz spent nearly 30 years at T-Mobile and helped launch the Un-carrier strategy.

Colin Jost Honored as Brand Genius for No Notes Productions

ADWEEK has named Colin Jost, longtime Saturday Night Live writer and Weekend Update co-anchor, to its 2026 Brand Genius class. Jost co-founded No Notes Productions, a creative agency that has produced high-profile campaigns for T-Mobile, Blue Moon, and Zoom. Zoom recently tapped No Notes for a Super Bowl campaign. Jost joked to ADWEEK that he would have been happy simply being called a 'non-idiot.' The recognition spotlights the rising role of celebrity-founded agencies in brand marketing.

• Colin Jost was named to ADWEEK's 2026 Brand Genius class.
• Jost runs the No Notes Productions agency.
• No Notes Productions worked with T-Mobile, Blue Moon, and Zoom.