Conduent call center cyberattack forces Georgia to replace EBT cards
ATLANTA, GEORGIA — A cyberattack targeting Conduent’s call center systems has prompted Georgia to issue replacement Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to thousands of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients locked out of accounts since late July, as reported by 11Alive News.
Public benefit systems exposed to cyber risks
SNAP offers food benefits to low-income families, enhancing their grocery budget to ensure access to nutritious food vital for health and well-being.
As the state’s EBT service provider for SNAP, Conduent’s compromised call center technology prompted the Department of Human Services (DHS) to deactivate existing cards and issue replacements, a costly stopgap to address the problem.
“Clients potentially impacted by the recent cyberattack were issued a replacement EBT card,” DHS said in a statement.
“The replacement card deactivated the card currently held by the client. The client will need the replacement card to create an account, check their balance, and use benefits.”
The United States Department of Agriculture’s confirmation of parallel attacks in six states suggests a coordinated campaign targeting vulnerable points in the national food assistance network.
While Conduent provides essential back-end services for government benefit programs, this incident raises questions about its cybersecurity protocols.
SNAP households struggle during service outages
With the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system still offline, beneficiaries remain dependent on physical card replacements rather than digital or phone-based solutions.
Georgia’s SNAP enrollees now face bureaucratic hurdles to reactivate benefits through replacement cards, compounding food insecurity for vulnerable households.
The breach’s multi-state footprint underscores how centralized vendor systems create single points of failure for critical safety net programs.
A spokesperson says that an investigation by Conduent is underway, and security measures are already deployed. However, states are left scrambling to implement temporary fixes while beneficiaries suffer the consequences.
