Michigan: Potential release of personal UIA info may affect 1.9M

LANSING, Mich. — Nearly 1.9 million residents' private information may have been compromised, according to the State of Michigan.

The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) said there was a potential release of Social Security numbers, names, and wage records as part of a software update to the state's unemployment benefits system called MiDAS.

State officials with the UIA and the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB) made the announcement Friday.

According to the state, the software update inadvertently made the system more vulnerable. The problem came to DTMB's attention January 30th and was corrected within hours, according to spokesmen. People who work for payroll processing companies and human resource professionals had access to the information, not unemployed claimants or the general public.

The glitch affected more than 30 third-party vendors that works with the Unemployment Insurance Agency to process payroll. The state said a payroll professional noticed they were able to access workers' information from other companies.

They said the total number of people affected will not be known until an investigation is finished. The Michigan State Police are looking into how many people may have accessed the information.

The state released a list vendors per media requests. This is directly from spokesman Dave Murray: