Coronavirus: Data breach exposes personal information of some Ohio unemployment applicants

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services has notified some applicants seeking unemployment benefits that their personal data was exposed due to an issue with a company contracted by the state, according to letters obtained by News Center 7.

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The letters inform the applicant that the breach took place with Deloitte Consulting, a company contracted to help the state with administering the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

“Deloitte discovered on May 15, 2020 that your name, Social Security number, and street address pertaining to your application for and receipt of unemployment compensation benefits inadvertently had the capability to be viewed by other unemployment claimants," Ohio JFS officials said in the letter to applicants.

State officials estimated around two dozen individuals were inadvertently able to view the information of other PUA applicants, JFS officials said in a media release Wednesday.

Deloitee was able to fix the issue with the system within an hour on May 15, officials said.

“At this time, there is no evidence or indication to believe that your personal information was improperly used; therefore, our actions, as well as the actions you may want to consider, are preventative,” JFS officials said in the letter to applicants.

Deloitte is offering credit monitoring to all PUA applicants for 12 months, according to a JFS spokesperson.

For those with additional questions about the breach you’re asked to contact Deloitte at DeloitteIdentityhelp@jfs.ohio.gov.

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