The Georgia Department of Human Services confirmed Friday that the call center for the state’s food stamp program was hit with a cyberattack.
According to DHS officials, Georgia’s system for managing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was targeted on Monday with a cyberattack.
The state said a contracted company which runs the interactive voice response call center for Georgia’s Electronic Benefit Transfer recipients was disrupted by bots in a cyberattack, with the bots trying to access accounts.
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The company, Conduent, deployed interim security measures at the request of DHS.
The IVR call center for Georgia’s EBT recipients allows them to check their EBT card status, review account balances and other similar functions.
Now, Conduent is investigating the breach attempt and the state is waiting for the company to report its findings.
In the meantime, DHS said they are working with the Georgia Technology Authority to request more information and review their processes and have remained in contact with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Nutrition Service officials with any developments.
The USDA administers the SNAP program, before individual states handle on-the-ground management of benefits and recipient eligibility.
It was unclear how many accounts may have been impacted due to the cyberattack.
In a statement shared with Channel 2 Action News, Conduent said:
“On Monday, July 28, Conduent’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – a phone system that allows individuals to call for information about their accounts – detected an unusual spike in inbound calls. Such attempts are often experienced in a call center environment and Conduent, at the State of Georgia’s request, took steps to block suspicious activity. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. Conduent values its partnership with the State of Georgia and is committed to delivering benefits to those individuals and families who need them.
There is a new security feature for cardholders to easily lock and unlock their EBT cards between purchases by using the new ConnectEBT app. This feature allows customers to choose where their cards are locked – everywhere, including Georgia, or only outside the State of Georgia. Additionally, the app offers an automatic lock feature after a specified amount of time determined by the customer.
Customers can download the ConnectEBT app on their Android or Apple device today from their device’s app store. Once the app is installed, customers can register a new account or log in using their ConnectEBT client website username and password."
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