Rhode Island says personal data was compromised in social services cyber attack

State officials say hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders could be affected by a cyber attack on the state’s online portal for social services, and that there is a “high” possibility that personally identifiable information will be compromised.

according to an update From Governor Dan McKee’s office, the attack targeted RIBridges, which Rhode Island residents use to apply for and access programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The attack also targeted the Healthsource RI insurance marketplace. McKee’s office said “anyone who has received or applied for health coverage and/or health and human services programs or benefits may be affected by this leak.”

Information obtained by cyber attackers can include names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and bank information.

The RIBridges system is run by Deloitte, which first reported the potential cyberattack on Dec. 5, but McKee’s office said at the time it was unclear whether sensitive data had been compromised. On Friday, Dec. 13, Deloitte confirmed the presence of “malicious code” in the system and worked with the state to “proactively” take down the system to eliminate the threat.

In the meantime, the state said Rhode Islanders can still use paper applications to apply for benefits.

This was reported by The New York Times At a press conference on Friday, the state’s chief digital officer, Brian Tardiff, said the cybercriminals who claimed responsibility for the attack threatened to release the data if they were not paid.