Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said at a news conference Monday that about 650,000 people had their data leaked in a major cyberattack that hit the state's online system for delivering health and human service benefits.
According to WJAR, McKee and HealthSource RI Director Lindsay Lang made the announcement at a briefing on Monday afternoon at the State House. They said anyone impacted by the data breach will be receiving letters in the mail by January explaining how to access free credit monitoring.
McKee had warned a little over a week ago that the people behind the cyberattack were threatening to release personal data of many Rhode Islanders. He said the hackers were demanding a ransom, but refused to elaborate.
Anyone who has been involved in Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Childcare Assistance Program, Rhode Island Works, Long-term Services and Supports and health insurance purchased through HealthSource RI may be impacted, officials have said.
The system known as RIBridges was taken offline two weeks ago after the state was informed by its vendor, Deloitte, that there was a major security threat to the system.
The state has contracted with Experian to run a toll-free hotline for Rhode Islanders to call to get information about the breach and how they can protect their data.
The call center is open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 833-918-6603. The call center will not be open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day or New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
