Computers at the S.C. Department of Revenue have been attacked by a foreign hacker, exposing about 3.6 million taxpayer Social Security numbers.
COLUMBIA - Computers at the S.C. Department of Revenue have been attacked by a foreign hacker, exposing about 3.6 million taxpayer Social Security numbers.
About 387,000 credit and debit card numbers also were exposed.
Not all taxpayer information was affected by the computer server breech, said Gov. Nikki Haley during a news conference at S.C. Law Enforcement Division headquarters Friday afternoon.
Mike Williams, the director of the Secret Service in South Carolina, said the breech is one of the largest the agency has seen but not the largest.
The offense is believed to date to Aug. 27, 2012, officials said.
Anyone who has filed a state tax return since 1998 is being asked to visit protectmyid.com/scdor or call 1-866-578-5422 to determine if their information is affected. The state will provide those affected with one year of credit monitoring and identify-theft protection, officials said.
State officials and a private company are still looking to see if there are holes in the computer system, according to Department of Revenue Director James F. Etter.