Hackers from outside the United States recently penetrated the website for South Carolina’s Department of Revenue and reportedly made off with 3.6 million Social Security numbers and 16,000 unencrypted credit and debit card numbers.
South Carolina has a population of approximately 4.5 million, meaning the compromised Social Security numbers could affect most of state.
South Carolina’s governor held a press conference about the breach on Friday:
Gov. Nikki Haley said in a press conference Friday afternoon that the breech had been fixed and the State is working on an unprecendented (sic) plan to resolve the issue. She said a full investigation of all government agencies will be done to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Authorities first learned of the hack in early October but say evidence indicates it occurred in late August, 2012.
The Secret Service is the federal agency in charge of the investigation. They have been tight-lipped about the theft past acknowledging that it occurred.
South Carolina has set up a hotline regarding the hack. Authorities recommend anyone who has paid taxes to the state in the last 14 years call 1-866-578-5422.