PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The tranches of RIBridges data released onto the dark web this week included several databases of people’s personal information tied to Social Security Administration programs, a review by Target 12 has discovered.
The databases included the names of hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders, along with what appear to be Social Security numbers, employment details, financial data and even family relations dating back until at least 2017.
One file alone contained the names and other personal information of more than 118,000 people, although there appeared to be some duplicates on the list. Gov. Dan McKee has said the hack affected 650,000 people overall, equivalent to more than half the state’s population.
The cybercriminal group Brain Cipher has taken responsibility for hacking RIBridges, a state IT system for health and benefits programs built and maintained by an outside contractor, Deloitte Consulting.