City of Clemson says October data breach impacted over 20,000 residents

The City of Clemson in South Carolina experienced a major cyber security incident in October that compromised the sensitive personal information of more than 20,00 individuals.

 

Clemson is a city in Pickens and Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is home to the famous Clemson University and according to the 2020 census, it has more than 17,000 residents.

 

In a data security incident notice filed with the Office of the Maine Attorney General, officials at Clemson city said that on October 18, the City identified suspicious activities in its internal network and immediately launched an investigation with assistance from third party cyber security experts to understand the nature and scope of the incident. It also took steps to secure the affected systems and notified federal law enforcement agencies about the same.

 

“The investigation determined that certain City data may have been acquired without authorisation in October. After undertaking a review of the potentially affected files, the City identified certain personal information that may have been involved,” the City told the regulator.

 

“The City’s review concluded on December 13, 2023 and revealed the individuals whose personal information could have been involved. The City thereafter worked to gather contact information needed to provide individual notification. This important step took time and was completed on February 2, 2024,” it added.

 

Sensitive personal information compromised during the data security incident included names, other personal identifiers, driver’s license numbers and non-driver identification card numbers. The City’s filing with the Maine Attorney General’s Office also revealed that at least 21,056 individuals were impacted by the incident.

 

“As soon as City discovered the incident, we took the steps described above and implemented measures to enhance network security and minimize the risk of a similar incident occurring in the future. We also notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation and will provide whatever cooperation may be necessary to hold the perpetrators accountable,” the City said.

 

It added that it did not find any evidence of the compromised data being misused, but the possibility of the same cannot be ruled out. It has urged all affected individuals to remain vigilant, review their credit reports and financial statements on a regular basis, and report suspicious transactions to relevant law enforcement authorities.

 

Clemson is also offering a year of complimentary credit monitoring, $1 Million Identity Fraud Loss Reimbursement, Fraud Consultation, and Identity Theft Restoration services through IDX to all the individuals affected by the data breach.