SAN ANTONIO -- AT&T Inc. today said that unauthorized persons illegally hacked into a computer system and accessed personal data, including credit card information, from several thousand customers who purchased DSL equipment through the company's online Web store.

The unauthorized electronic access took place over the weekend, was discovered within hours and the online store was shut down immediately. AT&T also quickly notified the major credit card companies whose customer accounts were involved. The company is also working with law enforcement to investigate the incident and pursue the perpetrators.

Customer notifications are ongoing by email, phone and letter to fewer than 19,000 customers. In addition to notifying those customers who were affected, the company will pay for credit monitoring services to assist in protecting the customers involved.

"We recognize that there is an active market for illegally obtained personal information. We are committed to both protecting our customers' privacy and to weeding out and punishing the violators," said Priscilla Hill- Ardoin, chief privacy officer for AT&T. "We deeply regret this incident and we intend to pay for credit monitoring services for customers whose accounts have been impacted. We will work closely with law enforcement to bring these data thieves to account."

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)