California state officials revealed Tuesday that in August a hacker broke into a University of California, Berkeley, computer containing a database with the names and Social Security numbers of some 1.4 million Californians. . . .
California state officials revealed Tuesday that in August a hacker broke into a University of California, Berkeley, computer containing a database with the names and Social Security numbers of some 1.4 million Californians.

Carlos Ramos, assistant secretary at the California Health and Human Services Agency, said the breach occurred on Aug. 1 but wasn't detected until the end of the month. It was reported to the state Sept. 21. He confirmed that the California Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are pursuing the incident and that the hacker has not been found.

He also stressed that it has not been determined whether the information in the database on the compromised system was actually accessed or stolen. "Really, this announcement is a precautionary measure," he says.

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