Governor McKee briefs public amidst data breach of RIBridges system

PROVIDENCE, RI — Governor Dan McKee, alongside administration members, briefs the public amidst a cybersecurity breach within the RIBridges system.

The situation started on December 5, when the State was notified by the vendor Deloitte that there was potential cybersecurity attack of RIBridges. At that point in time, it was unclear of what information was breached. Federal and state law enforcement was informed. Deloitte immediately consulted with the State IT department and conducted an internal investigation of what was breached and how it happened, alongside ramped up security measures.

On December 10, it was confirmed that there was a breach when a screenshot of system files were sent to Deloitte. The following day, Deloitte confirmed that the folders that were hacked contained personal data from RIBridges. On Friday, RIbridges was ordered to shut down to combat the cybersecurity threat.

Those who’s personal data may have been breached involve those who applied to the following:

• Medicaid,
• •Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),
• Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP),
• Health coverage purchased through HealthSource RI
• Rhode Island Works (RIW),
• Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) and
• General Public Assistance (GPA) Program.

Deloitte has stated that information that may have been breached include names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, as well as certain banking information. Deloitte is still investigating the specifics.

Those who may have had information leaked will be getting a letter in the mail from the State that will explain how to access free credit monitoring. A dedicated call center for impacted customers will be available Sunday, December 15 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. After Sunday, the call center will be open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

RIBridges is currently unaware of any cases that include identity theft or fraud, they advise customers to monitor their accounts by:

• Taking steps to freeze credit and/or place a fraud alert through the three major credit bureaus (Visit https://www.usa.gov/credit-freeze for more information and see contact information for the three credit bureaus below).
• As a best practice, customers should change any common or reused passwords to a new strong and unique one. Using a safe and secure password manager is the most effective way to reduce risks of password misuse.
• Customers can also call their bank to ask what steps may be taken related to the security of their bank account.

For updates on the situation, visit https://admin.ri.gov/ribridges-alert.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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