DEED officials say those seeking employment with the Department may be affected by the hack

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — Another Minnesota agency said Tuesday it has been hit by a data breach, this time at the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

According to DEED officials, the department became aware of the potential hack after monitoring what it called “suspicious messages” coming from a person claiming to represent an approved employer on the agency’s job board, MinnesotaWorks.net. When DEED contacted the employer, the business told state officials that the people were not on their payroll.

In response to the situation, DEED notified job seekers on Wednesday, September 6 that unauthorized parties could potentially access users’ personal information, such as phone numbers, email addresses and physical addresses, by viewing their resumes.

“The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development respects and values ​​the privacy of applicants’ personal information,” DEED said in a statement sent to KARE 11 on Tuesday. “A recent data security incident may have resulted in unauthorized access to applicant contact information such as physical addresses, email addresses and phone numbers. DEED immediately revoked the unauthorized access to the MinnesotaWorks.net website.”

While DEED said it acted quickly to revoke the exhibiting employer’s access to the site, the department said it “proactively implemented a plan to improve the infrastructure of the MinnesotaWorks.net website and upgraded security technologies as necessary.” .

In its letter to job seekers, DEED said it was not aware of any fraud involving user information, but provided resources to help people avoid potential identity theft.

• Ask to see your credit report. By federal law, you are entitled to receive a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three consumer credit reporting companies. You can request these reports online or by calling (877) 322-8228.
• Check your credit report for any transactions or accounts that you do not recognize.
• Call phone number listed on your credit report or visit the Federal Trade Commission’s identity theft website if you see something on your credit report that you don’t understand.

DEED also urged victims to be vigilant and careful about what information they choose to share online.

In addition to the recent series of school data breaches, the state Department of Education also reported a security breach as part of a nationwide hack in June.

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