AT&T might be used to giving over information to anyone who flashes government identification, but earlier this week they decided to give AOL a run for its money when hackers broke into one of their systems and made off with the personal data of about 19,000 customers.

According to news.com, the information that was accessed includes credit card numbers and other tid-bits for would-be identity thieves. AT&T is planning to contact those affected (customers who purchased their high-speed DSL equipment) by email, phone and regular mail.

AT&T is doing the correct thing, offering affected users free credit monitoring services. This is a pleasant change of pace from the non-response we have grown to expect. It still raises the question, however, who should be held liable when corporately held personal data falls into the wrong hands?

If you enjoyed that why not find a job or read our guide to working in the 21st century. You can also join our Kiva team or hire me for your project.