Rhode Island Benefits Portal Hit by Ransomware Attack

Rhode Island’s public benefits system has reportedly been targeted in a ransomware attack.

Hackers breached the online system and have threatened to disclose users’ personal information unless they get a payment, Bloomberg News reported Saturday (Dec. 14).

This data could be exposed “as early as this coming week,” Gov. Dan McKee said Saturday at a news conference, per Bloomberg. The governor noted that Deloitte is the state’s vendor to manage the system.

The online portal, known as RIBridges, has been shut down to deal with the threat. The system is used for benefits including Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Child Care Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

In a statement issued Saturday, the governor’s office said Deloitte had informed them that the hacked information could include names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, as well as certain banking information.

“We are currently unaware of any identity theft or fraud related to this data breach. However, we advise customers to remain vigilant and monitor their accounts for any unauthorized activity,” the statement said.

The state is recommending that users should change passwords on sensitive accounts and set up two-factor authentication protocols.

According to the governor’s office statement, households whose personal data may have been compromised will be notified by mail with information on accessing free credit monitoring.

The attack, the latest in a series of such incidents this year, comes at a time when organizations are relying more and more on digital infrastructure to operate. And as PYMNTS wrote last week, that’s led some observers to believe that similar attacks are likely to continue.

Within the banking industry specifically, the PYMNTS Intelligence report “The State of Fraud and Financial Crime in the U.S.: What FIs Need to Know,” found that a little more than three-quarters of financial institutions (FIs) plan to implement or upgrade fraud detection systems.

That’s up from 49% in 2023, though at the same time, 83% of FIs pointed to cost as a barrier to upgrading. And as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more common, data security will become more important.

“Companies and enterprises are increasingly facing a dilemma between how much they want to leverage their data versus how much they want to keep it secure and protected,” Pyte CEO and Founder Sadegh Riazi told PYMNTS in June.