Andre Yoskowitz
27 Oct 2012 13:23
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has confirmed that foreign hackers attacked the South Carolina Department of Revenue, stealing 3.6 million social security numbers and 387,000 credit and debit card numbers.
For the cards, 16,000 were unencrypted, but the exposed social security numbers will affect 78 percent of all of South Carolina's population.
Says Haley: "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."
If you have filed a tax return in the state since 1998, the Governor is urging you to call 1-866-578-5422. If your number was exposed, you will be given a free year of identity theft protection through Experian's ProtectMyID service.
Authorities say the attack was definitely foreign, and the FBI and Secret Service have joined in the investigation.