Four people with links to a terrorist cell were arrested in the Philippines for allegedly hacking into AT&T (NYSE: T) business accounts to steal nearly $2 million over two years. The raids were conducted by agents from the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the FBI in the city of Manila, and resulted in the confiscation of computer and telecommunication equipment.

The group, which consists of three men and a woman, were accused of breaking into the corporate PBX (private branch exchanges) of American AT&T account holders to make overseas premium calls to generate revenue. Losses were suffered when AT&T wrote off fraudulent charges; the CIDG says that the hackers' activities led to losses of almost $2 million for AT&T alone.

Bank statements have linked the local hacking group to a Saudi-based cell known to finance terrorist activities.

In a statement, the phone company emphasized that it has not been breached by the hackers but had assisted the investigations of law enforcement to arrest the responsible group. Citing ongoing investigations, AT&T declined to speculate if customers of other telephone companies were targeted.

For more:
- check out this article at PC Mag
- check out this article at InformationWeek

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