Georgia Power data breach exposes 400,000 customer accounts

Georgia Power detected unauthorized access to its online customer portal, exposing account information belonging to approximately 400,000 customers tied to its parent company, Southern Company, the company said. Of those, 300,000 were Georgia Power customers.

The breach exposed customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, the company said. Bank account numbers, payment card information, and driver’s license numbers were not accessed, according to CBS News Atlanta.

“We recently detected suspicious activity involving our online customer portal. An unauthorized third party accessed certain, limited information about the accounts of approximately 400K customers,” Georgia Power said in a statement.

The company said it took steps to halt the activity upon detection and contacted law enforcement. Georgia Power said it has since completed an investigation and found no evidence that unauthorized access is continuing. The identity of the third party behind the breach has not been released.

Georgia Power said it is reaching out to affected customers and has arranged complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft restoration services through Equifax for a period of one year. Affected customers received details on how to enroll in the monitoring service within the notification emails Georgia Power sent them.

The company also warned customers to be alert to impersonation attempts. “We will never threaten immediate disconnection or demand payment over the phone,” Georgia Power said. “If you suspect someone is pretending to be a Georgia Power employee, hang up or don’t reply, and call us directly at the number on your bill or our website.”

The breach adds to a surge in data compromises that has accelerated in 2026. The Identity Theft Resource Center tracked 1,803 data compromises in the first half of 2026, putting the year on pace to surpass the record 3,321 incidents recorded across all of 2025. One in four malicious breaches between March 2025 and February 2026 were AI-enabled, a 56% increase over the prior year, according to an IBM study.

Utilities have been among the targets. Georgia was one of multiple states that experienced cyberattacks on water infrastructure last year, according to WSB-TV. U.S. officials have sounded alarms about foreign government-linked hackers ramping up attacks on critical infrastructure such as electric utilities and water systems, according to WSB-TV.