1.9M In Michigan Unemployment Database May Be Compromised in Breach

(Updated) Personal information on as many as 1.9 million Michigan residents whose names are in the state’s unemployment database may be affected by what is being classified as a “potential release of private information,” according to media reports.

The information could include Social Security numbers and names, state officials said in Friday’s announcement. The possible data breach occurred as part of a software update in October, the Detroit Free Press reported. The vulnerability was discovered last month.

During the software update, employers and human resources professionals were able to access the information, but it wasn’t visible to people who had applied for benefits or to the general public.

“Data security is a top priority for the state of Michigan,” David Behen, Department of Technology, Management and Budget director and Michigan’s chief information officer, told The Detroit News “We will work with our third-party vendors and our state team to review our processes and procedures to avoid incidents like this in the future.”

An investigation is underway to determine the exact number of people potentially affected. There is no evidence that the information that was exposed was used for “for malicious purposes” or “was accessed with malicious intent,” The Detroit News said in its report.

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