Hacker Steals Millions of South Carolina Social Security Numbers

More than 3.6 million Social Security numbers along with 387,000 credit and debit card numbers were stolen from the South Carolina Department of Revenue by a foreign hacker, officials said.

The security breach first took place in August and then again in mid-September, according to the Department of Revenue. 

The vulnerability was closed on Oct. 20 and “to the best of the department’s knowledge, secured,” the agency said.

“The number of records breached requires an unprecedented, large-scale response by the Department of Revenue, the state of South Carolina and all our citizens,” said South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in a press release.

“We are taking immediate steps to protect the taxpayers of South Carolina, including providing one year of credit monitoring and identity protection to those affected.”

According to the local WLTX station, Haley said that she knew the foreign country where the hack originated, but she did not elaborate.

“I want that man just brutalized,” she told the station. “I want him slammed against the wall.”

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