MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A cyberattack has crashed the state’s unemployment website and has left thousands unable to apply for benefits.
A service interruption was reported on Sunday, sending Jobs4TN.gov offline and delaying benefit payments for thousands of Tennesseans.
As of Thursday morning, applying for benefits on the site has been halted due to the crash, and the Tennessee Department of Labor says it has no backup plan.
Geographic Solutions, the company that manages the site, was hit by a cyberattack over the weekend and says it could be days before it can repair the damage.
State Official Chris Cannon says the website is the only way to apply for unemployment benefits.
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“It would be great if it was as easy as flipping a switch and a backup plan would come on and we could do paper claims,” Cannon said. “We can’t take paper claims because there’s no data anywhere because all the data is on the computer systems.”
It’s not just Tennessee that’s affected. Geographic Solutions also manages unemployment websites for three dozen states.
