S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley takes blame for state’s data breach

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/11/28/175833/sc-gov-nikki-haley-takes-blame.html



South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley


S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley takes blame for state’s data breach
By James Rosen McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2012

WASHINGTON — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Wednesday for the first time accepted personal blame for a massive cyber-attack that stole the Social Security and bank account numbers of millions of South Carolinians, saying she should have done more to ensure the data’s security.

Haley briefed the state’s congressional delegation on the almost two-months-long hacking into South Carolina Department of Revenue computer servers by digital thieves, who pilfered the tax returns of 3.8 million state residents and 700,000 businesses going back to 1998, gaining access to the Social Security numbers and bank accounts of the taxpayers and 1.9 million of their dependents.

Haley faulted the Internal Revenue Service for failing to make clear that compliance with the giant tax agency’s rules doesn’t include encryption – a method of storing data that protects it from long-distance ID theft – but she acknowledged that as the state’s top executive officer, it was her responsibility to know that.

“I ultimately am saying that South Carolina is at fault for not doing this,” Haley said. “I should have asked the extra question. I should have said, ‘Does this include encryption?’ ”



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