KTUU reports that Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend web site is down and will remain down for now while the state investigates and remediates a data leak.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) — Update: 10:27 p.m.:
The Alaska Department of Revenue will not reopen the Permanent Fund Dividend application website until the integrity of filer information can be guaranteed, according to a statement from the department Tuesday night.
Full statement:
This morning, the Alaska Department of Revenue closed the online application system for the 2019 Permanent Fund Dividend due to technical issues that were preventing applicants from submitting their applications.
“The online security of all Alaskans continues to be our number one priority,” said Revenue Commissioner Bruce Tangeman. “We sincerely apologize to all Alaskans for the technical problems and want Alaskans to know we are working as quickly as possible to correct today’s complications and will have the application live once we are confident these issues are resolved.”There are reports that some applicants have inadvertently seen personal information belonging to other applicants that already filed for the dividend. The state’s information technology systems are managed by the Alaska Department of Administration. Its staff is working diligently with Department of Revenue staff to protect Alaskans personal information and will not reopen the site until they are confident that all personal information submitted online for this year’s dividend is both safe and secure.
Read KTUU’s original reporting on this issue on their site.