America’s Job Link Alliance Data Breach (2017)

Hackers obtained personal data, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, from a Topeka company that manages information services for workforce agencies in 10 states, officials said Wednesday. America’s Job Link Alliance, a 50-year-old company, provides a web-based system that links job seekers with employers for Kansas, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Oklahoma and Vermont, a press release said. The hack occurred on March 21 and was discovered by America’s Job Link Alliance Technical Support, the arm of AJL that serves as its national information systems development and support center. “AJLA–TS 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 systems of up to ten states,” a company press release said. “AJLA–TS immediately intervened and deployed its technical team to assess and stop the incursion, disabling the hacker’s access to the AJL systems.”