AUGUSTA — Nearly 1,000 Mainers’ personal information may have been compromised by someone who gained unauthorized access to a hiring website run by the parent firm of Central Maine Power Co.

CMP said Tuesday that it believes the site set up by Iberdrola USA in January 2007 was accessed without authorization last week.

John Carroll, CMP’s manager of public affairs, said about 5,100 people had provided a range of personal information on the site since it was established, and any confidentiality may have been compromised by the access.

The FBI has been called in to investigate, and the company has hired computer experts to track the unauthorized access and determine what steps are needed to make the site more secure, Carroll said. The company isn’t sure whether an employee or someone outside the company gained access to the site.

Carroll said the site is not connected in any way with CMP’s billing or account systems. It is still active and running, and has been secured, Carroll said.

Iberdrola, based in Spain, owns CMP through Iberdrola USA, a New Gloucester-based subsidiary. Iberdrola USA also owns New York State Electric & Gas and Rochester Gas & Electric.

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Carroll said all three companies use the hiring website. He said job candidates most likely posted resumes on the site, and may have provided other information such as Social Security numbers.

People who may be affected will be contacted in the next few days, Carroll said, and will be offered a year of credit monitoring at no cost.

Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:

emurphy@pressherald.com


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