Hackers accessed more than 19,000 accounts on California state welfare platform

Recorded Future reports that over 19,000 California BenefitsCal accounts were accessed by unauthorized actors who used valid credentials stolen from other sites (credential reuse) between March 2023 and February 2024, exposing personally identifiable information and government benefit identifiers; the agency deactivated accounts, forced credential and phone updates, reissued EBT cards, and implemented two‑step verification.