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South Carolina Department of Revenue Hacked, 3.6 Million SSNs Taken
New submitter Escape From NY writes "3.6 million Social Security numbers and 387,000 credit and debit card numbers were stolen from the SC Department of Revenue. Most of the credit and debit card numbers were encrypted — all but about 16,000. There were several different attacks, all of which originated outside the country. The first they're aware of happened on August 27, and four more happened in September. Officials first learned of the breach on October 10, and the security holes were closed on October 20. This is still a developing story, but anyone who filed a SC state tax return since 1998 my be at risk. Governor Nikki Haley today signed an executive order (PDF) to beef up the state's IT security."
No worries, every single citizen of South Carolina--just call this skeevy company that offered us free credit protection and give THEM your personal info too.
And also, the phone lines are busy. And the website doesn't actually work. And the offer is just a scam to try to try to get you on the hook for their "upgraded" service, which you'll never be able to cancel.
Sorry, you didn't expect the state to actually PAY to fix this mess did you?
Also, the Governor forgot to mention that one of her first acts in office was to order her agencies to cut their IT staff as much as possible (in hopes of creating a statewide Department of Administration that would answer only to her). What could possibly go wrong, huh?
obviously there is no repercussions to the vendors, administration and IT staff.
This is yet another fine example of Government security doing its usual - leaking like a sieve, in clear violation of Statutory data security requirements. I'll make a prediction right here: some anonymous H1B or lowly DEC will catch it and be fired, notwithstanding the fact that the buck should stop not there, but at the feet of the DCM or the Executive who will continue to collect seven digit salaries.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
The horses have run. Hurry up and close that barn door!
Parity: What to do when the weekend comes.
Well - that's reassuring! So, "only" 16,000 people potentially have their life savings at risk, or are about to have their lives turned upside down? Sure is convenient that government agencies have immunity from civil liability...
Can we fire the government?
Apparently early voting has already started if you want to fire the current group. Not that that will make a big differenced for this kind of activity.
Ah the wonders of the American Education System
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
Uh, for those who missed it, "SSN" is the Navy term for a nuclear submarine.
(SSN = "ship, submersible, nuclear")
So the headline saying "3.6 million SSNs taken" is a bit disconcerting, if you're reading the wrong acronyms.
A social security number is just a hash code to numerically identify a person. Kind of like a full name, except a little more precise. It was my student ID for both undergrad and grad school. It has since turned int a closely guarded secret, although it is included on the paperwork of pretty much anything you sign. There's got to be a better way.
NC was first in flight.
SC was first in fight.
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
Credit freeze
"A credit freeze, also known as a credit report freeze, a credit report lock down, a credit lock down, a credit lock or a security freeze, allows an individual to control how a U.S. consumer reporting agency (also known as credit bureau: Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) is able to sell his or her data. The credit freeze locks the data at the consumer reporting agency until an individual gives permission for the release of the data."
You have to pay each of these companies $10 for the privilege, but it's worth it.
Of course, any time you need to do something that requires a credit check (take out a loan, apply to lease an apartment, apply for a job (sometimes)...), you'll have to temporarily lift the freeze, which is another fee.