Sheheen introduces apology for hacked tax returns

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Democratic senator has introduced legislation that apologizes to the people of South Carolina for the cyber theft of millions of taxpayers’ personal data.

Sen. Vincent Sheheen of Camden says the proposed apology from the Legislature represents a symbolic yet important step toward restoring the public’s trust in state government.

His resolution would apologize for the government’s failure to take reasonable steps to secure taxpayers’ Social Security and bank account numbers. A computer hacker last September stole unencrypted data from the tax returns of 700,000 businesses and 3.8 million adults.

A spokesman for Gov. Nikki Haley called the proposal a political stunt. Rob Godfrey says the Republican governor has no problem with it as long as the apology covers Sheheen’s 12 years in the Legislature without mentioning cyber security.