A cybersecurity review of the RIBridges data breach has confirmed that more than 644,000 individuals were affected, state officials said Wednesday during a press conference.
Gov. Dan McKee and Chief Digital Officer Brian Tardiff shared findings from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which was hired to investigate the breach of the Deloitte-managed benefits system.
According to CrowdStrike, a threat actor gained access to the system in July 2024 using stolen Deloitte credentials. Between July and November, the actor accessed 28 systems. From Nov. 11 to Nov. 28, files were exfiltrated before the actor exited the system.
The breach was first identified in December, and both the state and Deloitte have since implemented new security measures.
CrowdStrike’s analysis revealed a total of 644,401 impacted individuals, including 107,757 names recently uncovered. Some were not RIBridges applicants or recipients but had information included in files shared with federal agencies for identity verification.
Notification letters dated May 22 are expected to begin arriving after Memorial Day. Deloitte has once again contracted with Experian to provide free credit monitoring and has set up a call center for affected individuals. The toll-free number is 1-833-918-6603.
The call center will operate Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, with additional hours from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 31–June 1 and June 7–8.
The McKee administration continues to urge Rhode Islanders to safeguard their personal information. Residents can visit cyberalert.ri.gov for information on freezing credit, setting up fraud alerts, and practicing good cybersecurity habits.
The state is exploring options to modernize and eventually replace the current RIBridges system.
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