Thousands of Tasmanian job applicants may have been caught up in a mass data breach.
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The University of Tasmania is contacting 3500 job applicants who may be affected by the breach at national and international human resources company PageUp.
The Department of Premier and Cabinet has also suspended all connections with PageUp and closed down its jobs website used to advertise or accept job applications.
Digital Tasmania is urging people who may have applied for jobs at UTAS or the government to immediately change their passwords.
“People should change their passwords so key information such as their date of birth, address and bank details are protected,” spokesman Andrew Connor said.
“It is not a good idea to use the same passwords and people should try to make them complicated and keep them secure.”
DPAC secretary Jenny Gale said PageUp could not confirm whether any data had been compromised and their investigations were ongoing.
“We have no evidence that anyone’s personal information has been compromised,” Ms Gale said.
“However, we recommend that anyone who has applied via the website for a position with the Tasmanian State Service be vigilant about unusual activity concerning their personal information.”
UTAS also said PageUp had been unable to confirm whether any of its data had been compromised
“However, we are asking people to assume it has been,” a spokesman said.
“We have taken immediate steps to remove vacancies from the PageUp system.”
The spokesman said PageUp began a forensic investigation into its systems after noticing unusual activity on 23 May 2018.
The University was notified on June 2.
“Only those people who have applied for a position at the University between 1 January 2018 and 5 June 2018 may have been impacted,” the spokesman said.
“Any part time, permanent or casual staff who have not used the system since January are not impacted.”
PageUp is used for the management of recruitment processes, including advertising, applications and filling of positions.
People who are concerned or have questions can contact 1800 019 897 or email pageupenquiries@utas.edu.au and jobs@dpac.tas.gov.au
