COLUMBIA — A Democratic senator asked Gov. Nikki Haley on Wednesday whether South Carolina paid a ransom to the computer hacker who stole millions of taxpayers’ personal information last fall. Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, called on the Republican governor to reveal any knowledge of a ransom related to the cyber-breach at the Department of Revenue. His hand-delivered letter asked for an immediate response, noting the Legislature is working on a state budget that spends tens of millions of dollars on the debacle’s aftermath. Representatives for Haley and the Department of Revenue referred questions to the State Law Enforcement Division, which did not return a message, and to the U.S. Secret Service. South Carolina’s special agent in charge declined to comment on any ongoing federal investigation. At a news conference last fall, Haley declined to answer questions about the possibility of a ransom. Emails previously obtained by The Associated Press in response to public records requests did not indicate any ransom. But Hutto, whose letter didn’t offer a reason for his suspicion, said the governor needs to address the matter directly, before the budget possibly wastes taxpayers’ money. “If we repurchased the information, No. 1, it would put everyone’s mind at ease if that’s true, and No. 2, we sure don’t need to be paying for something we don’t need,” said Hutto, an outspoken critic of the governor, who took the podium Wednesday to tell senators about his request. “It’s something the public’s entitled to know.” The hacker took the unencrypted Social Security and bank account numbers of 6.4 million residents and businesses. Legislators’ budget proposal for the fiscal year starting July 1 includes $20 million to cover contracts Haley negotiated after the Secret Service alerted state officials of the breach last October, including for public relations, legal costs, notification to taxpayers, and cyber-security consulting. The largest single contract of $12 million went to Experian for a year of state-paid credit monitoring for taxpayers who signed up for the service. Beyond covering bills that the revenue agency paid through a loan, legislators expect to pay an additional $10 million in 2013-14 to extend credit monitoring for a second year. A contract is in the works. The Senate and House budget plans also spend between $10 million and $15 million more next fiscal year on efforts to strengthen cyber-security across state government. Hutto said the state could wind up spending hundreds of millions of dollars for taxpayers’ credit monitoring in the years to come. Yet, he noted, nine months after the theft, there have been no widespread reports of identity theft. “If somebody knows that the bad guy doesn’t have it anymore, they need to go ahead and tell us,” he said. None of the money in the 2013-14 budget denotes a ransom payment, and Hutto’s not suggesting that it’s hidden within it. He specified he does not believe any state tax dollars were spent on any potential deal. “It’s a pretty simple question. Did somebody on behalf of this state pay a person or persons to retrieve that information?” Hutto asked. “If they didn’t, the question’s answered.” thetandd/news/state-and-regional/hutto-asks-haley-if-s-c-paid-hacker-a-ransom/article_105e8a1e-ce59-11e2-ad28-0019bb2963f4.html?comment_form=true
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 02:36:16 +0000