CHARLESTON, S.C. – A state court yesterday approved a request from the South Carolina Revenue Department to notify credit unions and banks of the 3.3 million bank account numbers compromised when someone hacked department tax files, allowing the depositories to determine which accounts may be at risk.
The state and depositories needed the court's permission to release the information.
Gov. Nikki Haley says that taxpayers will start receiving notification letters next week if their personal financial data was stolen in massive cyber-attack thought to be the largest ever at a state agency.
Hackers stole Social Security numbers and other sensitive information belonging to 3.8 million taxpayers with 1.9 million dependents as well as nearly 700,000 businesses in mid-September. The hacking is thought to be the largest-ever nationwide at a state agency.
Credit unions and banks learned which accounts were involved in the breach this week and have stated flagging those accounts to monitor for possible suspicious activity.
