Treasurer denies South Carolina Senate accusation he risked cyberattack in missing $1.8B case

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Days after a contentious public hearing with state senators, Treasurer Curtis Loftis nearly put South Carolina’s entire financial system at risk of a cyberattack by saying he was going to post reams of account data online, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Senate report attempts to explain how $1.8 billion in unspent money ended up in a Treasurer’s Office account with no idea where it came from or where it was supposed to go. But either the inability or unwillingness of Loftis to help untangle the mess has left many unanswered questions, Republican Sen. Larry Grooms said.

Loftis’ plan, put in writing earlier this month after senators questioned if he was following transparency laws, was stopped after an emergency meeting with the governor that included a phone call from the state’s top law enforcement official, Grooms said.

Loftis’ office said the treasurer warned senators about the dangers of posting the report and was talking to officials in the Department of Administration who agreed it was dangerous to do so without heavy redactions.

The report included the general fund names, account numbers and software type that would allow hackers to map their way into state accounts.

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