Data Breach Exposes 1.6 Million Jobless Claims Filed in the Washington State
The Office of the Washington State Auditor (SAO) on Monday said it s investigating a security incident that resulted in the compromise of personal information of more than 1.6 million people who filed for unemployment claims in the state in 2020.
The SAO blamed the breach on a software vulnerability in Accellion s File Transfer Appliance (FTA) service, which allows organizations to share sensitive documents with users outside their organization securely. During the week of January 25, 2021, Accellion confirmed that an unauthorized person gained access to SAO files by exploiting a vulnerability in Accellion s file transfer service, the SAO said in a statement.
Data breach exposes 1.6 million Washington state residents who filed unemployment claims in 2020
February 1, 2021 at 11:52 am
Washington State Auditor Pat McCarthy. (State Auditor’s office Photo)
The Office of the Washington State Auditor is investigating a security incident which has compromised the personal information of more than 1.6 million people who filed for unemployment claims in the state in 2020.
State Auditor Pat McCarthy’s office blamed the breach on a third party software provider named Accellion, whose services are used to transmit computer files.
“I know this is one more worry for Washingtonians who have already faced unemployment in a year scarred by both job loss and a pandemic,” McCarthy said said in a news release Monday. “This is completely unacceptable. We are frustrated and committed to doing everything we can to mitigate the harm caused by this crime.”
A Washington agency examining how the state fell victim to massive unemployment fraud last year said Monday that files on 1.6 million claims that it obtained for its investigation have been exposed by a data breach meaning people who already lost work due the pandemic might have to add identity theft to their difficulties.
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