Unemployment system hit by data breach affecting nearly 100 Floridians

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity confirms its reemployment assistance system was recently hit with a “data security incident.”

The DEO press secretary sent a statement to 8 On Your Side saying users who were impacted by the incident have been notified.

“We have notified individuals that were part of a data security incident associated with Reemployment Assistance claims,” Paige Landrum said. “This issue was addressed within one hour after we became aware of the incident.”

The DEO did not say specifically when the data breach happened but has notified the 98 individuals that were part of a data security incident which included the individual’s full name and Social Security number. The DEO says no banking information was involved.

“In an abundance of caution, we are making available identity protection services at no charge to affected individuals, and we have also advised them to report any unauthorized activity on their financial accounts,” the DEO spokesperson said.

The department said it has not received any reports of malicious activity so far.

FULL STATEMENT FROM DEO:

“Thank you for contacting the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. We have notified individuals that were part of a data security incident associated with Reemployment Assistance claims. This issue was addressed within 1 hour after we became aware of the incident. While the incident was handled within 1 hour, in an abundance of caution, we are making available identity protection services at no charge to affected individuals, and we have also advised them to report any unauthorized activity on their financial accounts. At this time, we have not received any reports of malicious activity.”

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