Rhode Island is grappling with the fallout of a significant ransomware attack that has compromised the personal information of hundreds of thousands of residents enrolled in the state’s health and social services programs. Officials confirmed the attack on the RIBridges system—the state’s central platform for benefits like Medicaid and SNAP—after hackers infiltrated the system on December 5, planting malicious software and threatening to release sensitive data unless a ransom is paid.

Governor Dan McKee, addressing the media, called the attack “alarming” and urged residents to take immediate precautions to protect their information. Compromised data includes Social Security numbers, banking details, addresses and dates of birth. “This breach is a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in government IT systems,” McKee said. “We are working with Deloitte and law enforcement to contain the damage and restore public trust.”

Timeline of the attack

The cyberattack began on December 5, when Deloitte, the developer and maintainer of RIBridges, alerted state officials to suspicious activity. Initially, it was unclear whether sensitive data had been accessed. Over the following days, Deloitte implemented additional security measures while investigating the breach.

On December 10, hackers provided a screenshot of file folders as proof of their access, prompting Deloitte to confirm that the RIBridges system had been compromised. Further analysis revealed a high probability that the stolen files contained personally identifiable information (PII). By December 13, Deloitte identified malicious code within the system, leading the state to shut down RIBridges to mitigate further damage and begin remediation.

How the attackers gained access

While the exact infiltration method remains under investigation, early findings suggest that the attackers exploited vulnerabilities in the system’s architecture, likely through phishing emails targeting administrative accounts or unpatched software weaknesses. The malware deployed by the cyber criminals enabled unauthorized access and allowed the attackers to exfiltrate data unnoticed for several days.

This breach has highlighted persistent security challenges in government IT systems, which often struggle to keep pace with evolving cyber threats. RIBridges, developed in 2016 under the Unified Health Infrastructure Project (UHIP), has faced years of technical and operational issues, including public criticism for its vulnerabilities.

Impact on residents and state operations

The breach has far-reaching implications for Rhode Island’s residents and government services. Programs impacted include Medicaid, SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and health insurance purchased through HealthSource RI. The RIBridges system’s offline status has forced the state to resort to manual processing for December benefits and January payments, creating delays and disruptions for thousands of families.

State officials have contracted Experian to provide free credit monitoring to affected residents and set up a dedicated call center to offer guidance. McKee also urged residents to take proactive steps, including freezing their credit, updating passwords and enabling multi-factor authentication.

Comparisons to other state-level ransomware attacks

Rhode Island is not the first state to be targeted by a ransomware attack on its central systems. In 2019, Texas faced a coordinated ransomware assault that impacted 22 local entities, including state-run agencies, though its centralized IT infrastructure mitigated the spread. Similarly, Colorado’s Department of Transportation suffered a ransomware attack in 2018, which disrupted operations and required weeks to fully resolve.

These incidents underscore the growing threat of ransomware to state governments. Unlike attacks on local municipalities, state-level breaches can potentially disrupt critical systems serving millions of residents, amplifying the stakes for government cybersecurity teams.

What comes next?

The FBI and other federal agencies are assisting in the investigation, while Deloitte works to remediate the vulnerabilities and restore RIBridges. Meanwhile, negotiations between the state’s representatives and the cyber criminals are ongoing, though officials have not disclosed the ransom amount or whether they intend to pay it.

“That conversation is going on directly with Deloitte and the cyber criminals. That’s how this process works, we’re learning a little bit about it,” McKee said. “But we’re being notified of the progress on it, and ultimately, it does end up with that decision with me.”

The attack has reignited calls for stronger cybersecurity measures in government IT systems. Experts recommend adopting zero trust security models, conducting regular vulnerability assessments and increasing investments in cybersecurity infrastructure to prevent future breaches.

“This breach is a wake-up call,” says Brian Tardiff, Rhode Island’s Chief Digital Officer. “We need to ensure that our systems are resilient against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The stakes are too high to do otherwise.”

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CISA and the FBI recently released a joint statement that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is targeting commercial telecommunications infrastructure as part of a significant cyber espionage campaign. As a result, the agencies released a joint guide, Enhanced Visibility and Hardening Guidance for Communications Infrastructure, with best practices organizations and agencies should adopt to protect against this espionage threat.

According to the statement, PRC-affiliated actors compromised networks at multiple telecommunication companies. They stole customer call records data as well as compromised private communications of a limited number of people. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia) told the Washington Post that the threat actors listened on audio calls and even moved between networks. As a result, many media sources reported that texts between Android and Apple devices are not secure.

Historic and sophisticated cyberattack

The headlines of the Washington Post deemed it the worst telecom hack in our nation’s history, per a top U.S. senator. On the surface, this seems a bit melodramatic, with only 150 identified victims. However, experts predict the affected number of people will go into the millions. Warner, who serves as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, went as far as to say that Salt Typhoon makes Colonial Pipeline and SolarWinds “look like child’s play.”

The data collected during the attack falls into two categories, reported NBC. The first included call records showing the time and number called, with most records in the Washington, D.C. area. The other included listening to live calls of specific targets, which may include Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

However, the most concerning aspect of the attack is the national security implications. Richard Forno, Principal Lecturer in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at UMBC, explained in UMBC Magazine that Salt Typhoon compromised the portals used by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement. As a result, he says that the attackers may have gotten information about which Chinese spies and informants counterintelligence agencies were monitoring, which those targets can then use to avoid detection.

“U.S. officials have said that many of the ways Salt Typhoon penetrated its targets was through existing weaknesses with the infrastructure. As I’ve written previously, failing to implement basic cybersecurity best practices can lead to debilitating incidents for organizations of all sizes. Given how dependent the world is on networked information systems, it is more important than ever to maintain cybersecurity programs that make it difficult for attacks to succeed, especially for critical infrastructure like the phone network,” wrote Forno.

Reducing the risk of Salt Typhoon

With words like espionage and intercepting texts thrown around, the biggest question on people’s minds is how to protect themselves from this threat. Many experts are currently recommending using encrypted apps, such as WhatsApp and X, instead of traditional texting.

“Encryption is your friend, whether it is on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communications, even if the adversary is able to intercept the data if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible, if not really hard, for them to detect it. So, our advice is to try to avoid using plain text,” said Jeff Greene, CISA Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity, during a press briefing reported by USA Today.

Forbes also reported that an FBI official recommended citizens use a cell phone that automatically receives timely operating system updates. Additionally, the phone should have responsibly managed encryption and phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (MFA) for email, social media and collaboration tool accounts.

“So it’s somewhat ironic that one of the countermeasures recommended by the government to guard against Salt Typhoon spying is to use strongly encrypted services for phone calls and text messages – encryption capabilities that it has spent decades trying to undermine so that only ‘the good guys’ can use it,” wrote Forno.

To learn how IBM X-Force can help you with anything regarding cybersecurity including incident response, threat intelligence, or offensive security services schedule a meeting here.

If you are experiencing cybersecurity issues or an incident, contact X-Force to help: US hotline 1-888-241-9812 | Global hotline (+001) 312-212-8034.

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