Hannah Hoffman

Statesman Journal

Hackers accessed confidential employment records for more than 850,000 people last week when they illegally entered the Oregon Employment Department's website for job seekers.

The WorkSource Oregon Management Information System contains 1.9 million records, and nearly half were accessed. The 851,322 people whose records were compromised will receive letters about how to protect themselves from identity theft, Employment Department spokeswoman Andrea Fogue said in a Monday press release.

Beginning Tuesday at 8 a.m., the public can call a hotline provided by the department to find out if their records have been accessed.

So far, there is no evidence anyone's identity has been stolen, Fogue said, but the department is urging anyone who has used the system to reset their passwords when they log into their accounts.

The hacked information contains Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates and other information usually found on job applications, Department of Administrative Services spokesman Matt Shelby said.

No financial information was included, and the unemployment insurance system was not affected.

The Employment Department received an anonymous tip, and after it was verified, the website was shut down Oct. 6, secured and repaired.

However, the department took four days to tell the public about the problem. It finally announced the security breach at 4:48 p.m. on Friday afternoon, 12 minutes before state offices close for the weekend.

This is the second time a state website full of personal information has been hacked this year.

The Secretary of State's campaign finance website was shut down for three weeks in February, and hackers accessed political candidates' bank account information.

ORESTAR, the campaign finance database, contains records of payments candidates or parties have made to the state, transactions between a candidate's bank account and his or her campaign fund, and donations to and from campaign finance committees.

It contains information such as a candidate's name, phone number, address and other details.

That website was shut down for weeks, and the hacking was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Gov. John Kitzhaber has requested a criminal investigation into the situation at the Employment Department, and the Oregon State Police Major Crimes Division is handling the case, Shelby said.

hhoffman@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6719 or follow at twitter.com/HannahKHoffman

For more information

To find out if your information was hacked, call 1-877-643-4322 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to speak with the Oregon Employment Department public hotline.

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