ADT data breach
5,488,888 accounts exposed in a breach on 20 April 2026.
At a glance
5,488,888
Accounts exposed
20 April 2026
Date of the breach
27 April 2026
Added to the list
What happened
In April 2026, home security firm ADT confirmed a data breach by ShinyHunters, which listed the company on its website as part of a "pay or leak" extortion attempt. The breach impacted 5.5M unique email addresses along with names, phone numbers and physical addresses. ADT also advised that "in a small percentage of cases, dates of birth and the last four digits of Social Security numbers or Tax ID
What was exposed
- Dates of birth. Dates of birth were exposed. They help criminals prove they are you, and they cannot be changed.
- Email addresses. Email addresses were exposed. Expect more spam and phishing aimed at those addresses.
- Names. Names were exposed. Scammers use real names to make a message look personal.
- Partial government issued IDs. This kind of data was included in the breach. Treat it as exposed and be careful with messages that use it.
- Phone numbers. Phone numbers were exposed. Expect scam calls and text messages, some of them pretending to be the organisation.
- Physical addresses. Home or postal addresses were exposed. They can be used to make a scam letter or a fake identity look real.
What to do now
It depends on what was exposed, so these steps follow the list above.
If identity documents or numbers were exposed
- Contact the organisation that issued the document (for example the passport office or the licensing authority) and ask what to do.
- Contact your national identity theft or cyber support service for help with identity theft (for example IDCARE in Australia and New Zealand).
- Watch for credit enquiries or accounts you did not open.
If your contact details were exposed
- Expect more spam, scam calls and phishing. Do not click links or open attachments in messages you did not expect.
- If a message mentions this breach, do not reply. Go to the organisation's own website or app instead of using a link in the message.
Whatever was exposed
- Check which other breaches include your own email address and phone number.
- Keep an eye on your accounts for a few months. Breached data is often used long after the breach.
- If you think someone is using your details, report it to the organisation and to your national cyber crime reporting service.
Check your own exposure
- Password leak check: find out whether a password has appeared in a breach. The password never leaves your browser.
- Free domain security scan: grade the email, DNS and website security of a domain you own.
Related breaches
Other breaches that exposed some of the same kinds of data.
Sharecare
In August 2026, the digital health company Sharecare was the target of a ShinyHunters "pay or leak" extortion campaign.
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- Employers
- Genders
- +6 more
Read what happened
Brinks Home
In July 2026, Brinks Home was targeted in a ShinyHunters "pay or leak" extortion campaign.
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- Names
- Partial credit card data
- +3 more
Read what happened
Houston City College
In June 2026, Houston City College was the target of a ShinyHunters "pay or leak" extortion campaign.
- Academic records
- Citizenship statuses
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- +4 more
Read what happened