A data breach detailing more than 800 current and former Charleston County employees’ identifying information was caused by a Human Resources employee accidentally sending a list of information to a former county employee.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the situation Aug. 6. The county on Monday began alerting employees whose information was included in the e-mail, said spokesman Shawn Smetana.

Smetana said the county also alerted the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies about the incident

The breach included employees’:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Gender
• Salary
• Hire date
• Whether they were eligible for retiree health care
• Whether they are an active or inactive employee

It is unclear why or how the information was sent through HR to a former county employee. The employee who sent the information will be subject to a disciplinary process, Smetana said.

In an email to affected employees, County Administrator Jennifer Miller said the county would offer a free year of credit monitoring through Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. Miller encouraged employees to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission.

No bank account information was released in the breach, according to Miller’s note.

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