Cyberattack May Have Compromised Personal Data of “Hundreds of Thousands” of Rhode Islanders
If you ever applied for health coverage or health and human services benefits, you may be affected.
Cyberattacks are always serious, but some affect user privacy more than others. So it is with this case in Rhode Island, which leaves the data of hundreds of thousands of residents exposed.
On December 5, Deloitte noticed a breach of the RIBridges system, a platform Rhode Islanders use to apply for programs like Medicaid, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), CCAP (Child Care Assistance Program), HealthSource RI healthcare, and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). The company immediately notified state officials in Rhode Island, noting that the breach impacted “folders” of data. Six days later, on December 11, Deloitte determined there was “a high probability that the implicated folders contain personal identifiable data from RIBridges.”
Once the company identified malicious code in the system on December 13, Deloitte shut down the network, and publicly announced the cyberattack.
Hackers were possibly able to retrieve names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and banking information from the attack. The exact number of victims isn’t known, but Governor Dan McKee says those affected will be contacted by mail. However, the Governor’s office warns if you have ever received or applied for health coverage and/or health and human services programs and benefits through this system, you could be impacted.
The systems are still down as of this article, so applications will need to be done by mail. If you are affected, the state will be offering free credit monitoring, even though there haven’t been signs of identity fraud stemming from this attack.
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