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State officials said hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders could be affected by a cyberattack on the state’s social services portal, with a “high potential” for personally identifiable information to be compromised.
according to to update From the office of Governor Dan McKee, the attack targeted RIBridges, which Rhode Islanders use to apply for and access programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The attack also targeted the Healthsource RI insurance market. “Any individual who obtained or applied for health coverage and/or Health and Human Services programs or benefits could be affected by this leak,” Mackey’s office said.
Information accessed by cyberattackers can include names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and banking information.
The RIBridges system is operated by Deloitte, which first notified the state of a potential cyberattack on Dec. 5 — but McKee’s office said it was not clear at the time that sensitive information had been compromised. On Friday, December 13, Deloitte confirmed the presence of “malicious code” in the system and worked with the state to “proactively” remove the system to address the threat.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island residents can still use paper applications to apply for benefits, the state said.
The New York Times reports At a news conference on Friday, the state’s chief digital officer, Brian Tardif, said the cybercriminals who claimed responsibility for the attack had threatened to release the data unless they received payment.
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