SBA May Have Exposed Data Of 8,000 SMBs Seeking Relief Loans

Nearly 8,000 applicants for small business loans through the government’s Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) stimulus program have possibly been affected by a data breach exposing private information.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a statement saying that the portion of the website that was impacted was disabled immediately. The SBA said it relaunched the application portal.

COVID Loan Tracker, which works to trace small business loans, provided The Washington Post with a letter the SBA sent, which said the organization had known about the possible breach on March 25.

The letter, sent April 13, said the personal information provided could include Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, phone numbers, email addresses, citizenship status and insurance information.

The letter clarified that there was no indication any info had been misused.

The SBA didn’t say how long it had known about the breach, and businesses affected were then offered a free year of credit monitoring.

The distribution of stimulus funds from the government has been rife with issues, with the EIDL running low after a bombardment of over 3 million applications for funds. The EIDL received 10 million in funds to help small businesses affected by the coronavirus, but many applicants didn’t receive the money on time, and some still haven’t as of this writing.

In addition, the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was depleted in days and left many businesses empty-handed.

The Senate on Tuesday, April 21 also passed another stimulus bill, this time for $484 billion in relief, including more than $300 billion to re-fuel the PPP and further assist small and medium-sized businesses.

The new bill will allocate another $310 billion for the PPP, along with a separate extra $60 billion for emergency SMB grants and loans, and a $75 billion package to help hospitals. There will also be a $25 billion package to fund more testing for the virus.

The bill will now go before the House of Representatives on Thursday, where it is expected to pass, and after that, President Donald Trump is expected to sign it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised what she said was bipartisan support for the bill.