Missouri Budget Officials Outline $50M Cost of Data Breach

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Help for roughly 100,000 teachers whose Social Security numbers were made vulnerable in a massive state data breach could cost Missouri as much as $50 million, the governor’s office confirmed Tuesday.

The estimate includes the cost of credit monitoring and a call center to help affected teachers.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s spokeswoman on Tuesday confirmed reports from state House budget officials that explained the $50 million price tag. The information was publicized by Democratic House lawmakers.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch broke the news about the security flaw last week. The newspaper said it discovered the vulnerability in a web application that allowed the public to search teacher certifications and credentials.

Parson, who has deflected his administration’s responsibility for the breach and instead cast blame on the newspaper for identifying the issue and warning the education department about it, last week said the breach “may cost Missouri taxpayers as much as $50 million and divert workers and resources from other state agencies.”