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Jobless Washingtonians' personal data stolen by hackers

Tuesday, 02 February 2021 7:09 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 02 February 2021 7:08 PM ]

This photo taken on January 08, 2021, shows people walking into a check cashing store in downtown Brooklyn in New York City. (Photo by AFP)

Hackers have stolen personal data, including Social Security numbers and banking information, of 1.4 unemployed Washingtonians, raising fears among aid claimants of identity theft and fraud amid the dire economic straits.

“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. I am sorry to share this news and add to their burdens,” Washington State Auditor Pat McCarthy said on Monday. “This is completely unacceptable. We are frustrated and committed to doing everything we can to mitigate the harm caused by this crime."

The stolen data, which also included records held by the Department of Children, Youth and Families, was exposed during a security breach on Dec. 25, 2020, according to the auditor's office.

McCarthy said the hackers stole the data from a third -party service provider during a December breach of Accellion, a software provider the auditor’s office uses to transfer large computer files.

“We believed that we were getting a secure system and we expected that — and the citizens of Washington state should expect that as well,” McCarthy noted.

She said her office was working with state cybersecurity officials, while another federal law enforcement investigation had been launched to probe how the system had been breached.

The auditor’s office said the breach affects personal information of people who filed for unemployment claims with the state Employment Security Department (ESD) between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 10, 2020, and included a total of 1.6 million claims.

It pointed out that the data theft did not originate with ESD, which has been under official scrutiny over shortcoming in its own security measures following its lost of $600 million to fraudulent unemployment claims last spring.

Meanwhile, network security experts said the victims of the data theft can protest themselves by changing their accounts numbers.

“The fraudsters have everything they need in order to take whatever money is in that account and electronically transfer it to an account that they control,” warned Trace Fooshee, a senior analyst and expert in fraud, data security, and money laundering at Aite Group, a financial services consultancy.

Fooshee added, the claimants can protect themselves, but “unfortunately, that means changing account numbers.”

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