A major service interruption at government contractor giant Conduent has sparked outages across several US states, leaving residents without access to some benefits and support payments. According to a person familiar with the incident, the outage was caused by a cyberattack, although Conduent has declined to confirm or deny this claim.

Conduent spokesperson Sean Collins acknowledged the company's outage was ongoing, stating that "we are currently experiencing a service interruption affecting some applications while we have restored service over the past few days. The Conduent technology team is working hard to resolve any remaining issues." However, Collins refused to answer further questions or rule out a cyber incident as the cause of the outage.

The impact of the outage has been felt across multiple states, with Wisconsin's Department of Children and Families announcing on social media that it was unable to process child support payments across the state for much of the week. The department revealed that four states, including Wisconsin, were affected by the outage at Conduent. Although service was restored on January 19, the department deferred comment on the cause of the outage to Conduent.

In Oklahoma, the Human Services department, which manages the state's food assistance program, reported that Conduent's customer service line was hit by the "technical outage." Spokesperson Casey White stated that the state's systems are "working as expected" and that it experienced "no outages related to security at Conduent."

This is not the first time Conduent has faced a cyberattack. In June 2020, the company confirmed a ransomware attack several days after reporting a service interruption. The Maze ransomware gang took credit for the breach, subsequently publishing various documents stolen from the company's systems. The incident highlights the ongoing vulnerability of government contractors to cyber threats, which can have far-reaching consequences for citizens relying on essential services.

The incident raises concerns about the security of government contractors and the potential impact on citizens. As government agencies increasingly rely on private contractors to manage critical services, the risk of cyberattacks and service interruptions grows. This incident serves as a reminder of the need for robust cybersecurity measures and transparency in the event of a breach.

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