Cardholders reliant on Georgia's Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system are facing disruptions once again as the state's interactive phone service went offline barely a day after being reinstated. Sources report the system was affected by a spike in calls that led officials to take down and restart the service. This incident trails closely behind a cyberattack on July 28 that first put users in a snag. According to a report by FOX 5 Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) has not provided an explanation for this newest outage.
The issues began when Conduent, a third-party customer service call center managing support for EBT card use, fell victim to a cyberattack that disrupted operations. Despite the call center's attempt to quickly resume service, DHS has decided to temporarily power down amid ongoing investigations into the cyberattack. The department is directing users to adopt the ConnectEBT mobile app as an interim solution to manage their accounts and enhance security measures. According to 11Alive, DHS has promised to provide updates when the call center becomes operational again.
Meanwhile, those affected by the system's downtime are encouraged by officials to download and use the "Connect EBT" app. This app notably allows users to swiftly lock their EBT cards between transactions to step up their financial security. EBT cardholders can quickly manage their SNAP benefit status and account balance through the app, circumventing the need for the currently unreliable phone service.
EBT users should also be aware of the "My Card Everywhere" feature available within the app. This function enables them to prohibit all in-state, out-of-state, and online transactions temporarily—effectuating a broad halt in response to the cyber threat. Registration for new accounts on the app is straightforward, as is login for those with existing ConnectEBT client website usernames and passwords.
