IdahoWorks notified about data breach
Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 9 years, 1 month AGO
About 170,000 of the Idaho Department of Labor’s 530,000 job-seeker accounts — active and historical — were compromised by a hacking incident on March 12-13 involving America’s Job Link, a Kansas-based, multi-state system that operates the department’s IdahoWorks job search engine.
The Department of Labor is sending direct notification, via email or regular mail, to all IdahoWorks customers whose accounts may have been compromised. The account information that may have been viewed includes customers’ name, Social Security number and date of birth.
America’s Job Link provides job search services to ten states. A total of 4.8 million accounts within the America’s Job Link system are believed to have been compromised. Other state systems affected include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma and Vermont.
The matter is under criminal investigation by law enforcement. An independent forensic firm hired by America’s Job Link Alliance-Technical Support estimated that 170,000 Idaho-based accounts may have been viewed. According to the forensic firm, the code vulnerability that allowed the unauthorized access has since been eliminated. Idaho accounts created on and after March 14, 2017, were not affected.
Customers whose accounts may have been viewed are being asked to place a “fraud alert” on their credit reports and to notify law enforcement officials if they discover any suspicious activity.
A toll-free phone number has been set up for customers who have additional questions about the recent data breach involving America’s Job Link, a Kansas-based, multi-state system that operates the Idaho Department of Labor’s IdahoWorks job search engine. The number, 1-844-469-3939, will be answered from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mountain Time, Monday-Friday.
In addition, AJL has agreed to offer individuals whose accounts were compromised with one year of credit monitoring services.
“The privacy and protection of Idahoans’ data is of utmost importance,” said Idaho Department of Labor Director Ken Edmunds. “The department is working closely with AJL and advocating strongly for our customers.”
Customers whose accounts may have been accessed are being asked to place a “fraud alert” on their credit reports and to notify law enforcement officials if they discover any suspicious activity.
Information: labor.idaho.gov/security