South Carolina taxpayer server hacked, 3.6 million Social Security numbers compromised
October 26th, 2012
07:56 PM ET

South Carolina taxpayer server hacked, 3.6 million Social Security numbers compromised

The Social Security numbers of millions of South Carolinians, as well as credit and debit card information for hundreds of thousands, have been hacked in what the state's governor described Friday as an international cyberattack.

"This is not a good day for South Carolina," Gov. Nikki Haley told reporters.

The governor explained that a "server that warehouses all our taxpayer information was breached and taxpayer information was stolen."

The state's Department of Revenue explained in a press release that it first learned of a possible breach on October 10, after which the state contracted information security firm Mandiant to conduct an investigation.

The "hole" in the system was closed October 20. Over the next several days, state authorities determined that more than 3.6 million Social Security numbers may have been affected. So, too, were 387,000 credit card numbers - though only 16,000 of those were unencrypted.

On Friday, state officials laid out efforts to determine what happened and protect the personal information of taxpayers. While noting that not everyone had their information breached, Haley urged everyone who filed a tax return in South Carolina from 1998 through now to take advantage of credit protection services being offered by the state.

"While we now have it protected, we want to make sure that everybody understands that our state will respond with a big, large-scale plan that is somewhat unprecedented to take care of this problem," the governor said.

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Filed under: Security breaches • South Carolina • Uncategorized
soundoff (340 Responses)
  1. KiloTango

    redfirestorm is a Mitt mockingbird. LOL!!!

    October 27, 2012 at 5:06 am | Report abuse |
  2. REDFIRESTORM

    women know something about romney that obambi-poo doesn't - he never listened - to busy talking

    October 27, 2012 at 5:10 am | Report abuse |
    • Oh boy

      Does your mommy know you are up so late??

      October 27, 2012 at 5:26 am | Report abuse |
  3. REDFIRESTORM

    obambi-poo has a big mouth and small everything else

    October 27, 2012 at 5:11 am | Report abuse |
  4. REDFIRESTORM

    women tell obambi-poo that size matters - this election is all about something bigger and better for america - including national cybersecurity

    October 27, 2012 at 5:12 am | Report abuse |
  5. Sam in NC

    So are any other state's servers vulnerable? Or are we going to hear about this 49 more times...

    October 27, 2012 at 5:13 am | Report abuse |
  6. Kona

    Hey, it's S. Carolina. I'm guessing they still use tin cans for phone service.

    October 27, 2012 at 5:14 am | Report abuse |
  7. REDFIRESTORM

    obambi-poo left our women feeling frustrated - romney will give our nation something it can really feel

    October 27, 2012 at 5:15 am | Report abuse |
  8. Michael Carpenter

    All these problems can be avoided by adopting an identification system that includes fingerpting, retina recognition, photographing, and at the local level, computers that are contained within the facility.

    October 27, 2012 at 5:15 am | Report abuse |
  9. Observer1812

    The government can't protect our information right now. It'll be great when the Obamacare clause that requires our medical records to be maintained in electronic format takes effect, and that gets breached.

    October 27, 2012 at 5:16 am | Report abuse |
  10. Social?

    Republican Governor Nikki Haley will blame Obama for it because Social Security has the word "social" in it and imply that a socialist administration is responsible.

    October 27, 2012 at 5:16 am | Report abuse |
  11. n2it

    Would it have made any difference if that state was using a more secure operating system, such as Linux or Mac?

    October 27, 2012 at 5:18 am | Report abuse |
  12. Truth Hurts, Doesn't it?

    The joke's on you Hackers, i don't live in South Carolina 🙂

    October 27, 2012 at 5:19 am | Report abuse |
  13. sparta

    ouch!!!

    October 27, 2012 at 5:20 am | Report abuse |
  14. REDFIRESTORM

    probably not just SC -a national problem -that's why being in high debt poses as a security risk - obambi-poo mishandled the buget - he doesn't have a business and technological mind- cutie just profiles for college kids

    October 27, 2012 at 5:22 am | Report abuse |
  15. josh rogen

    I think the Benghazi scandal has taught us that the president is too busy with the election to be bothered with any breach of national security

    October 27, 2012 at 5:22 am | Report abuse |
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