Hackers may have accessed confidential information for more than 500 Alaskans who had contact with state public assistance programs in the Nome and Fairbanks regions, in a data breach revealed Thursday by state health officials.
In late April, a virus infected a computer in the Division of Public Assistance for the northern region, state investigators found. The computer accessed websites in Russia, and also had suspicious software installed, according to a statement from the state Department of Health and Social Services.
The hacking may have exposed confidential information, such as pregnancy status, Medicare and Medicaid billing codes, social security numbers and driver's licenses, the statement said.
Katie Marquette, the health department's communications director, said there is no indication at this point that personal information has been used in an unauthorized way.
She said the department was alerting the public "out of an abundance of caution."
Marquette said the origin of the virus or the hackers wasn't known, though there was evidence the virus-infected computer was visiting Russian websites. Russian hackers have targeted routers throughout the United States in recent years.
The state health department has seen at least one similar breach in recent months. In September, the Office of Children's Services reported a breach that affected the western part of the state, Marquette said. She said officials were not able to identify specific individuals whose identities were stolen as a result of the breach.
Marquette said malware is constantly changing but state information technology security teams were working to keep pace.
Officials were urging people who have had contact with the Division of Public Assistance in the northern region to call (888) 484-9355 to see if personal information had been compromised, and to take steps to protect themselves from identity theft.