Washington Auditor Breach: 1.4M Unemployment Records Exposed
The breach of third-party software used by the Washington Auditor’s Office could have exposed more than 1.4 million personal records, raising concerns about identity theft and fraud. by Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times / February 2, 2021 Shutterstock/Vlad L
(TNS) The personal unemployment claims data of at least 1.4 million Washingtonians may have been stolen in a hack of software used by the state auditor s office, raising fears of identity theft and fraud amid an already bleak pandemic downturn.
State Auditor Pat McCarthy said Monday the records including Social Security numbers and banking information were exposed during a December breach of Accellion, a software provider the auditor s office uses to transfer large computer files.
What you need to know about the massive hack of Washington unemployment data By Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times
Published: February 3, 2021, 7:42am
Share: The Employment Security Department s rush to get unemployment benefits to residents who lost jobs due to the coronavirus outbreak left it vulnerable to criminals who made off with hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent claims. (Ted S. Warren/AP Photo)
A massive data breach involving the state auditor’s office has left more than a million Washingtonians’ personal information vulnerable to identity theft.
It’s created potential new headaches for unemployment claimants already struggling to pay bills and deal with delays in benefit payments. A full picture of the debacle may take months to emerge, but here are answers to some of the most pressing questions Seattle Times readers have been asking:
Lawsuit filed against California company involved in unemployment data breach
By Q13 News Staff
Lawsuit filed against California company involved in unemployment data breach
A Seattle firm has filed a lawsuit against the California company whose software was hacked and exposed the personal information of 1.4 million people who filed unemployment claims in Washington state.
SEATTLE - A Seattle firm has filed a lawsuit against the California company whose software was hacked and exposed the personal information of 1.4 million people who filed unemployment claims in Washington state.
The civil suit against Accellion was filed in King County Tuesday and seeks class-action status on behalf of everyone whose information was hacked.
Seattle Art Museum (SAM) announced this AM that artist Lauren Halsey (work pictured above) is the winner of the 2021 Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Prize, earning a $10,000 award and a solo exhibition at SAM opening this winter. LAUREN HALSEY S LAND OF THE SUNSHINE WHEREVER WE GO (2020) | COURTESY OF DAVID KORDANSKY GALLERY, LOS ANGELES; PHOTO BY ALLEN CHEN
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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.”