South Carolina, Industry, U of SC Join Cybercrime Fight

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides are announcing a state-wide effort to fight cybercrime.

The officials announced Tuesday in Columbia the formation of “SC Cyber,” composed of partners in state government, academia, and the state’s leading industries.

The goal is to help train people from those organizations about security techniques to counter cybercriminals and prevent the theft of vital information.

Besides offering courses in computer security, the organization will also be a research and development hub.

In 2012, South Carolina’s Revenue Department was hit by a massive hack during which the electronically filed tax returns of 3.8 million adults and 700,000 businesses were stolen. The theft included unencrypted Social Security numbers of those adults and their 1.9 million dependents.