Current:Home > ContactSouth Carolina’s top officer not releasing details on 2012 hack that stole millions of tax returns -Infinite Edge Learning
South Carolina’s top officer not releasing details on 2012 hack that stole millions of tax returns
View
Date:2025-04-12 08:36:10
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Twelve years after a hacker stole personal data from more than 3.6 million people in South Carolina by obtaining Social Security numbers and credit card information from tax returns, the state’s top police officer said Wednesday he thought he knew who did it but wasn’t ready to name anyone.
State Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel was careful not to release many details during his confirmation hearing for another six-year term. He said what authorities didn’t find shows that the state had the right response after the U.S. Secret Service identified the hack and data breach in October 2012.
“I think the fact that we didn’t come up with a whole lot of people’s information that got breached is a testament to the work that people have done on this case,” Keel said.
A contractor with the state Department of Revenue clicked on a malicious link in an email in the summer of 2012, allowing a hacker to access 6.4 million state income tax returns. They collected the Social Security numbers of 3.6 million people and almost 400,000 credit and debit card numbers.
The state paid $12 million for identity theft protection and credit monitoring for its residents after the breach, At the time, it was one of the largest breaches in U.S. history but has since been surpassed greatly by hacks to Equifax, Yahoo, Home Depot, Target and PlayStation.
Democratic Sen. Brad Hutto has been searching for answers for over a decade and has been repeatedly told it was an active investigation and couldn’t be talked about. Hutto decided to ask Keel about the breach Wednesday to try to get answers in public.
“Now you can tell us that y’all paid somebody in Azerbaijan $28,000 or whatever it was,” Hutto said.
Keel refused again to say if South Carolina paid a ransom to the hacker to get the information back.
“I’m probably still not going to be totally transparent with you, OK?” Keel said. “I’m not going to lie to you either.”
Keel justified the insurance for taxpayers and the federal and state investigative work by saying the quick action prevented the hacked information from being used and the proof was what didn’t happen — an onslaught of bogus credit card charges or people using stolen ID information.
In retrospect, the state may not have had to spend $12 million on insurance. But that is with the benefit of hindsight, Keel said.
“We didn’t really have a choice,” Keel said. “It was something that we had to do because at the time this happen we had to start trying to protect people immediately. We didn’t have time for the investigation to play out the way it ultimately played out.”
Hutto responded: “Did it play out? Do you know who did it?”
“Yes, sir, I know who did it,” Keel said, refusing to give any other details.
Hutto asked if the person had been prosecuted, then laughed and said it might have been because the person was paid off.
Keel didn’t respond to the bait. “If we could ever get to this individual, they may be,” he said.
The Senate subcommittee approved Keel’s nomination for an additional six-year term. It now goes to the full Judiciary Committee.
Keel has worked at the State Law Enforcement Division for nearly his entire 44-year law enforcement career, other than a three-year stint as the Department of Public Safety’s director.
He rose through the ranks in jobs like helicopter pilot and hostage negotiator before becoming the agency’s chief of staff in 2001. He spent a year as interim director in 2007 before being passed over by then-Gov. Mark Sanford for the top job.
Gov. Nikki Haley chose Keel to lead the State Law Enforcement Division in 2011.
veryGood! (77154)
Related
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Fantasy football rankings for Week 3: Running back depth already becoming a problem
- Social media users swoon over Blue, a comfort dog hired by Rhode Island police department
- Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians get 3% annual raises in 3-year labor contract
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- VA Suicide hotline botched vet's cry for help. The service hasn't suitably saved texts for 10 years.
- Taco Bell employee accused of using customer credit cards to make fraudulent purchases
- Amazon driver in very serious condition after she's bitten by highly venomous rattlesnake while dropping off package in Florida
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Polish police briefly detain lawmaker who interrupted prime minister’s speech
Ranking
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Comedian Gary Gulman hopes new memoir will bring readers 'laughter and nostalgia'
- Lazio goalkeeper scores late to earn draw. Barca, Man City and PSG start Champions League with wins
- Maryland officials announce $120M for K-12 behavioral health services
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Utah therapist charged with child abuse agrees not to see patients pending potential discipline
- Why Everyone's Buying The Nodpod BODY Weighted Blanket For Home, Travel & More
- Disney Star Matthew Scott Montgomery Details Conversion Therapy Experience After Coming Out as Gay
Recommendation
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Mbappé and Hakimi score as PSG wins 2-0 against Dortmund in Champions League
Lawsuit filed over department store worker who died in store bathroom, body not found for days
Florida man charged with murder in tree-trimming dispute witnessed by 8-year-old
Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
Nick Chubb injury: Latest updates on Browns star, who will miss rest of NFL season
Pepsi and Madonna share never-before-seen commercial that was canceled 34 years go
On 50th anniversary of Billie Jean King’s ‘Battle of the Sexes’ win, a push to honor her in Congress