SEATTLE (AP) – The Washington state Auditor’s Office says a data breach may have exposed the personal information of 1.6 million residents who filed for unemployment last year, as well as other information from state agencies and local governments.

The breach involved third-party software used by the auditor’s office to transmit files.

The software vendor, Accellion, announced last month that it had been attacked in December.

State Auditor Pat McCarthy says those potentially affected include people who filed for unemployment benefits from Jan. 1 to Dec. 10, 2020.

That includes many state workers as well as people who had fraudulent unemployment claims submitted on their behalf.

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