Rhode Island data breach impacts hundreds of thousands

Rhode Island data breach overview: 

• Who: Rhode Island state officials have reportedly disclosed hundreds of thousands of state residents were likely affected by a data breach. 
• Why: The data breach has been attributed to an international cybercriminal group that has threatened to release the allegedly stolen information in lieu of a ransom payment. 
• Where: The Rhode Island recall may affect any residents of the state who either applied or received benefits through a pair of government assistance programs since 2016. 

Rhode Island state officials reportedly said hundreds of thousands of state residents likely had their personal and bank information hacked by an international ransomware group. 

The officials revealed hackers threatened to release the Rhode Island residents’ information in lieu of an undisclosed amount of cash via a ransom payment, Reuters reports. 

The Rhode Island data breach reportedly affects residents who utilize government assistance programs in the state, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and healthcare obtained through the state’s HealthSource RI. 

The data breach has been attributed to hackers gaining access to RIBridges, Rhode Island’s online portal for obtaining social services, reports Reuters. 

The data breach was reportedly not confirmed by vendor Deloitte until Dec. 13, despite the incident occurring earlier in the month, according to the governor’s office.  

“Deloitte confirmed that there is a high probability that a cybercriminal has obtained files with personally identifiable information from RIBridges,” the governor’s office said, in a statement earlier this month, as reported by Reuters. 

Rhode Island asked Deloitte to shut down RIBridges to end threat

The data breach may affect anyone who has either applied or received benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families since 2016, reports Reuters. 

Rhode Island has reportedly asked Deloitte to shut down RIBridges in order to end the threat and said any individual applying for new benefits must do so via a paper application, for the time being. 

A notification letter detailing the issue and providing instructions on how to help protect data and bank accounts will be sent to any households believed to have been affected by the data breach incident, Reuters reports. 

Consumers have already filed multiple class action lawsuits in response to the breach. 

In other data breach news, Nucor Corp. agreed to a class action settlement earlier this month to put an end to claims the sustainable steel and steel products company failed to prevent a 2023 data breach that compromised sensitive employee information. 

Are you affected by the Rhode Island data breach? Let us know in the comments.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• $3.2M USAA settlement to resolve data breach class action
• Duke Energy Carolinas class action claims data breach exposed customer data
• Judge grants initial approval to $1.1M Columbus Regional Healthcare settlement
• Bitcoin ATM operator suffers data breach