HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania officials have removed a searchable, online database of state employee emails, narrowing the ways the public can reach the people who work for commonwealth agencies.

The state Office of Administration, which oversees cybersecurity for state government agencies, took down the directory in May because it posed a security risk, said communications director Dan Egan.

“Having every Commonwealth employee email address publicly available in a searchable directory represents a cybersecurity risk and is not a best practice since phishing emails are increasing in frequency and represent the number one threat vector Commonwealth employees face today,” Egan wrote in an emailed statement.

The state still provides an online phone directory of state employees, and department websites feature some general email addresses and contact forms for public use. The email directory launched in 2012, and gave the public a way to directly contact employees who work for various state departments.