Massive data breach in Rhode Island exposes personal information of hundreds of thousands
A cyberattack on Rhode Island's RIBridges system has exposed sensitive personal information belonging to hundreds of thousands of residents, including names, Social Security numbers, and banking details. The breach, which affects individuals who have applied for or received health and human services benefits, was confirmed by state officials on December 13.
The RIBridges system is managed by Deloitte and supports programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, and health coverage through HealthSource RI. The attack is believed to have targeted files containing sensitive data, prompting officials to take the system offline as a precautionary measure.
Background
The incident began to unfold on December 5, when Deloitte, the state’s vendor for RIBridges, alerted Rhode Island to a potential cyberattack. Initial investigations did not confirm that sensitive information had been accessed, but the situation escalated when the hacker shared screenshots of compromised file folders with Deloitte on December 10.
By December 11, Deloitte reported a high probability that personally identifiable information (PII) was included in the breached data. Malicious code was discovered in the system two days later, leading to the system’s shutdown on December 13.
What information was exposed?
Although the full scope of the breach is still being assessed, Deloitte has indicated that compromised data may include:
Names and addresses
Dates of birth
Social Security numbers
Banking information
Programs affected include:
Medicaid
SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
Rhode Island Works
HealthSource RI
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
State response and customer information
In his update, Governor Dan McKee reassured residents that the state is working diligently to secure the system and investigate the attack. The Rhode Island State Police and federal law enforcement are involved in the investigation.
To mitigate the fallout, the state will offer free credit monitoring services to affected households. Impacted individuals will be notified via mail with details about the breach and steps to protect their information. A dedicated call center has been set up to address customer concerns, operating extended hours to accommodate demand.
Additionally, the state advises residents to:
Freeze their credit or place fraud alerts with the three major credit bureaus.
Change passwords to stronger, unique ones, using a secure password manager if possible.
Monitor bank accounts for unauthorized transactions.
