Breach, Data Security

Former South Carolina DHHS employee sentenced for 2012 data breach

Christopher Lykes, a former employee with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, was sentenced to three years of probation and must serve 300 hours of community service after he accessed confidential records in 2012, according to a Thursday The State report.

Lykes pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful access and use of confidential records, the report indicates. Lykes was initially sentenced to 30 months in prison by Richland County Judge Alison Lee, but that sentence was suspended.

The names, addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers, which also double as Medicaid ID numbers, of more than 228,000 individuals were stolen by Lykes and transferred to a personal email account. Lykes was arrested and charged, and was also fired.

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