AT&T: Outage not due to cyberattack

AT&T emphasized that the widespread cell network outage on Feb. 22 that has since been resolved was caused by a coding error and not a cybersecurity incident, The Associated Press reports. "Based on our initial review, we believe that today's outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network, not a cyberattack," said AT&T in a statement issued on Thursday. Despite the outage being dismissed as a cybersecurity event, the incident is already being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI, which pledged to immediately respond should it become aware of any malicious activity. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta, R-Ohio, have also launched a probe into the matter. "We are working to assess todays disruption in order to gain a complete understanding of what went wrong and what can be done to prevent future incidents like this from occurring," said the lawmakers.