Rhode Island hit by data breach as hackers demand ransom By Reuters

By Rich McKay

(Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders’ personal and banking information, including Social Security numbers, were likely hacked by an international group of cybercriminals holding them for ransom, state officials said on Saturday.

In what Rhode Island officials described as extortion, the hackers threatened to release the stolen information unless they were paid an undisclosed sum of money.

The breach affects people who use state government assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and health care purchased through the state’s HealthSource RI, Gov. Dan McKee announced Friday.

Hackers gained access to RIBridges, the state’s online portal for social services, earlier this month, the governor’s office said, but the breach was not confirmed by its vendor, Deloitte, until Friday.

“Deloitte has confirmed that it is highly likely that a cybercriminal obtained files containing personal information from RIBridges,” the governor’s office said in a statement on Saturday.

A representative from Mackie’s office was not immediately available to Reuters for comment.

Anyone who applied for or receives benefits through those programs since 2016 could be affected.

The state has ordered Deloitte to shut down RIBridges to deal with the threat, and for now anyone applying for the new benefits will have to do so on paper applications until the system is restored.

Households believed to be affected will receive a letter from the state informing them of the problem and explaining the steps to take to protect their data and bank accounts.