Maine Department of Labor Notifies JobLink Account Holders of Hacking Incident

March 24, 2017

Information about identity theft and credit monitoring being provided

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 24, 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: Julie Rabinowitz, 207-621-5009

AUGUSTA?The Maine Department of Labor has begun notifying Maine JobLink account holders whose accounts may have been exposed in a hacking incident of the system provider, America?s JobLink Alliance.

America?s JobLink (AJL), a multi-state, web-based system that links job seekers with employers and operates the Maine JobLink, was the victim of a hacking incident. On March 21, 2017, America?s Job Link Alliance?Technical Support confirmed that a malicious, third-party hacker exploited a vulnerability in the AJL application code to view the names, Social Security Numbers, and dates of birth of job seekers in the AJL system. This incident occurred between February 23, 2017 and February 26, 2017.

Commissioner of Labor Jeanne Paquette stated, ?The incident involving the Maine JobLink is of great concern, and we want to assure our customers that the Department of Labor is working diligently to provide information to those possibly affected. We value our relationship with the people of Maine and take their trust in us seriously.?

A notice is being provided via the email the Department has on file for affected account holders. It advises that, during the next two weeks, AJLA will be contacting affected individuals in all 10 states who have valid emails to provide helpful information to protect their identity as well as information about the credit monitoring service that will be offered.A copy of the Department's notification is available at https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MEDOL/bulletins/18fcb00 .

The Commissioner noted, ?If you know that you had a job seeker account in either the Maine Job Bank or the Maine JobLink systems and you know that the email in the system is outdated or you do not receive an email from the Maine Department of Labor by Monday, March 27, we urge you to call the AJLA Response Center. The call center can confirm whether your account was included in the attack and provide you with the information about identity protection and credit monitoring.?

Maine?s account holders can call the AJLA Response Center at (844) 469-3939. The Response Center?s hours are 9 a.m. EDT until 9 p.m. EDT, Monday through Friday. Affected individuals can access additional details about the incident and how to protect their information on the AJLA website at http://sitedev.ajla.net/pressrelease.html .

Commissioner Paquette added, ?Some immediate steps you can take include placing a 90-day fraud alert on your credit reports with the three major credit reporting organizations, obtaining a free credit report, and placing a freeze on your credit report. Maine law allows residents to freeze their credit report at no cost.?

For more information on how to take these steps, people should visit the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection?s website, http://www.maine.gov/pfr/consumercredit/filefreezeinfo.htm, part of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation.

Individuals who have concerns about a potential identity theft can contact the Attorney General's Office Consumer Line, 1-800-436-2131, which is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.

The Department of Labor?s notification is being done in accordance with Maine law, Title 10, ?1348, Security Breach Notice Requirements.

Maine Department of Labor and its CareerCenters are equal opportunity providers. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

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