Kentucky’s unemployment system target of possible hack

(The Center Square) – The system used to process Kentucky’s unemployment claims was the target of a possible hack on Wednesday and taken offline for part of the day, the Kentucky Career Center reported.

In a series of tweets, the center stated the state Office of Unemployment Insurance notified the Kentucky Labor Cabinet officials about the potential cyberattack at 10:40 a.m.

The Career Center said the state Office of Homeland Security was working with Labor and Unemployment staff as well as the Commonwealth Office of Technology to resolve the issue. Officials said the attempted attack “used random login names to attempt to overwhelm the site but none of the login attempts have been successful.”

State unemployment workers were still able to help filers, but those seeking to access the external site were unable to connect.

The external site resumed operation at around 3:25 p.m. Users were asked to complete an additional step when they attempted to log in, the site said.

The Career Center added, “There has not been any security breach and no information from claimants has been compromised.”

Kentucky’s unemployment system has faced several challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this month, the state’s auditor of public accounts identified a “weak control environment” that allowed certain claimants to receive backdated assistance to March 1 despite when they lost their job.

There have also been concerns about the timeliness of responses to applicants and claimants’ emails. The auditor’s report founds more than 400,000 emails dating back between March and May went unread.

The Beshear Administration has blamed the issues on an archaic system that needed drastic updates as well as staffing cuts from the predecessor Bevin Administration that led to significantly fewer people being able to handle the claims and questions when they skyrocketed at the onset of the pandemic.

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