[BreachExchange] State unemployment office notifying more than 32, 000 gig workers whose personal information was possibly exposed

[Destry Winant]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-unemployment-data-breach-insurance-gig-workers-illinois-20200522-m7ujgmsfyvfgdmxw6iwsxga72e-story.html

The state’s unemployment insurance office said Friday it would start
more than 32,000 gig workers whose personal information may have been
viewed during a security breach.

The breach in the system built for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
payments was revealed last week, when a claimant reported that she had
stumbled upon personal information for thousands of applicants on the
state’s website, including names, addresses and Social Security
numbers. The claimant told her state representative, Terri Bryant, a
Murphysboro Republican, who reported it to the Illinois Department of
Employment Security.

After working with Deloitte Consulting to investigate a glitch in the
system, the state will send notices to people whose information may
have been “unintentionally viewed" by a single individual. The state
had hired Deloitte to help it deal with the large number of
unemployment insurance claims — more than a million since the March
stay-at-home order closed nonessential businesses and sent people
home.

The department said that computer records confirm that no one else
viewed the personal information and there is no sign that any personal
information “was, or will be, improperly used.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Department will notify 32,483
claimants whose information could have been possibly viewed to ensure
full transparency,” the department said.

Claimants who get the notice will have the option to enroll in 12
months of free credit monitoring, a service offered by Deloitte, the
state said.

The department received 74,515 claims under the Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance program to aid the self-employed in the first week since
the state’s system went live May 11, according to the U.S. Department
of Labor.

The program to provide unemployment benefits to self-employed workers
is part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic
Security Act. Applicants must first apply for regular unemployment and
be rejected before they can apply for the new benefits.

The state encourages applicants to try to fill out claims online
first, but many people have run into problems and then must call the
office at 800-244-5631 for help. Some applicants have said they’ve
called dozens of times a day to try to find help, though the Illinois
Department of Employment Security said it has doubled the number of
workers in call centers to assist claimants.