As of January 14, 2026 (late evening EST), there is no confirmed major Verizon hack or data breach reported today.
What you're likely seeing references to is a widespread Verizon wireless outage that began around midday ET, affecting hundreds of thousands of customers across the US (with reports of phones stuck in SOS mode, no voice/data/text service, and issues even impacting some 911 calls in certain areas).
Key Details on the Outage
- Scope: Nationwide impact, though not every customer was affected. Major cities from the East Coast to Texas, Florida, and beyond saw disruptions lasting several hours (peaking in the afternoon and resolving progressively into the evening/night).
- Verizon's Response: The company acknowledged the issue, apologized, stated engineering teams were working on it, and promised account credits for affected customers.
By late Wednesday, they reported the outage as resolved (though some users may need to restart devices to reconnect fully).
- Cause: No official root cause has been disclosed yet, but experts (including mobile network security researchers) describe it as unlikely to be a coordinated cyberattack.
It's more consistent with a technical issue, such as a server configuration problem or software/network misconfiguration (common in recent telecom outages across carriers).
Law enforcement sources (including those speaking to outlets like ABC News) have investigated the possibility of a hack but currently believe it's a technical failure, not malicious activity.
Cybersecurity agencies like CISA are deferring to Verizon for details.
Rumors of a Hack
Social media (especially X/Twitter) has been full of speculation — claims of Iranian hackers, foreign adversaries stealing data, or a massive breach tied to the outage.
Some users even referenced older incidents (like the 2024-2025 Salt Typhoon Chinese nation-state espionage campaign that targeted US telecoms including Verizon, which was contained and disclosed earlier).
These claims appear to be unfounded rumors at this point. No credible news sources, official statements from Verizon, or government confirmations support a hack or data breach as the cause of today's outage.
Past Verizon-related incidents (e.g., employee data exposure or third-party issues) are unrelated.
Other Recent Verizon Cybersecurity Notes
- Verizon publishes annual reports like the 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report (analyzing global breaches, including rising third-party and vulnerability exploits).
- There was a smaller, unrelated breach notification for some Total Wireless (Verizon-owned prepaid) customers in early January 2026, stemming from a third-party identity verification provider (Veriff) in late 2025 — but this affected only ~8,500 people and wasn't network-wide.
If you're a Verizon customer affected by the outage today, check your account for any promised credits, and monitor official channels (@VerizonSupport or verizon.com) for updates.
If new information emerges about a security angle, it would likely come directly from Verizon or federal authorities.
Stay safe out there — and restart your phone if you're still having issues! 🚀