An “international cybercriminal group” harvested the personal data of potentially hundreds of thousands of people from the state’s social services and health insurance systems, officials said.
The personal and private information of possibly hundreds of thousands of people who applied for government assistance in Rhode Island could be in the hands of hackers after a huge cyberattack, state officials said on Friday.
The cybercriminals said to be behind the attack threatened to release the data unless they received a payment, said Brian Tardiff, the state’s chief digital officer.
Hackers gained access to RIBridges, the state’s online portal for obtaining social services, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and Medicaid benefits, as well as health insurance through the state’s marketplace for coverage, HealthSource RI, officials said at a news conference on Friday.
Other programs under RIBridges include ones for financial assistance to low-income families, child-care help, employment assistance, long-term care for disabilities and cash assistance.
Anyone who has applied for or received benefits through those programs since 2016 could be affected, the state said.
Gov. Dan McKee said the state and its vendor, Deloitte, are investigating the cause of the breach and what information was obtained. He said that it was still unclear exactly how many people might be affected but estimated it could be hundreds of thousands of benefit applicants.