Rhode Island says personal information can be hacked on social media

Officials say thousands of Rhode Island residents could be affected by a cyber attack on the state’s social services network, with a “high probability” that personal information was compromised.

According to changes from Governor Dan McKee’s office, the attack targeted RIBridges, which Rhode Islanders use to sign up for and access programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The attack also affected Healthsource RI’s insurance market. McKee’s office said “anyone who receives or applies for health care and/or health and social care programs may be affected by this leak.”

Information that criminals can access may include names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and bank information.

The RIBridges system is managed by Deloitte, which first reported the cyberattack on December 5 – but McKee’s office said it was not immediately clear that critical information had been breached. On Friday, December 13, Deloitte confirmed that there was “malicious code” in the system and worked with the government to “quickly” remove the system to combat the threats.

Meanwhile, the state said Rhode Islanders can still use paper to sign up for benefits.

The New York Times said that at a press conference on Friday, the government’s digital director Brian Tardiff said that cybercriminals claiming to be responsible for the incident had threatened to release the data unless they received money.