Nearly 1.9 million Michigan residents may be at risk after the potential release of their Social Security numbers and names -- part of a software update to the state's unemployment benefits system. David Derigiotis is a cyber security expert.

“Whenever there's a compromise, or potential compromise of social security numbers, you have to be high alert because that is the crown jewel of our privacy and it can be used to open up credit, to file fraudulent tax returns. You have to be diligent, you have aware to what's going on. It may not hurt into filing some type of freeze on your credit report or some type of fraud alert,” he says.

Users of the system who potentially had access include employers and human resources professionals, not unemployment claimants or the general public.