AUSTIN — Comptroller Susan Combs offered another apology Thursday for the information breach in her agency, saying she now is offering a year of free credit monitoring to the 3.5 million people at risk of identity theft after their data was exposed on a public computer server.

“I do take full responsibility for this, and that means responsibility to fix the problem,” Combs told The Dallas Morning News in her first interview since the breach.

The credit monitoring could cost the state up to $21 million, though Combs expects it to be less than that.

Combs, a Republican who was overwhelmingly elected to her second term as comptroller in November, said she has not given any thought to resigning over the debacle. She said “walking off the job” would be a “significant disservice” to the people of Texas as she tries to correct what happened in her agency.

Combs’ comments Thursday marked the first time she has answered questions publicly about the data exposure, which endangers current and retired state employees and teachers and those with information held by the Texas Workforce Commission. She has taken heavy criticism for her handling of the breach, which has sparked a criminal investigation and at least one potential lawsuit.

She announced in a written statement April 11 that the Social Security numbers and other personal information of 3.5 million people were left exposed for a year or more in a publicly accessible computer server at her agency.

The comptroller’s office said it discovered the problem March 31 but didn’t notify the attorney general’s office for a week and waited more than 10 days to tell the public.

Combs defended that time lapse, saying that her office needed to scrutinize the problem within her own agency, and that she needed to establish a website and call-in center before alerting the public because so many people were affected.

“That’s rather speedy,” she said, adding that the information was shut off from public accessibility as soon as it was discovered. “We did everything we could as fast as we could.”

No evidence of misuse

There is no evidence any of the information has been misused, her office has said.

As of Friday morning, Combs’ office is offering one year of credit monitoring and Internet surveillance for free through the company CSIdentity to those affected. The program will cost the state $6 per year per person who enrolls.

Combs, with money from her campaign fund, is also offering “identity restoration services” for enrollees if their personal information is misused because of the breach.

The comptroller also outlined several other steps she is taking, which she said will help ensure such a breach doesn’t happen again.

Along with following the advice of consulting firms that have been brought in, she said she is adding a chief privacy officer in her agency to work along with the chief technology officer, information security officer and internal auditor.

Donors hired

Combs, who received $9,000 in campaign contributions in 2008 and 2009 from a principal of CSIdentity, said she didn’t realize that when she began arranging for the Austin-based company to help after the information exposure. She said she was told by the Employees Retirement System that the company did good work.

She also defended hiring Deloitte Consulting for $57,000 through a no-bid contract to examine information security in her office. A Deloitte political committee gave $44,000 to Combs in her campaigns for comptroller.

The contributions were first reported Wednesday by The Dallas Morning News.

The consulting companies were previously approved by the state Department of Information Services, Combs said, and could be used right away without a competitive bidding process. Putting the contracts out for bid would have taken 60 to 90 days and delayed the fix to the agency’s problems, Combs said.

Since the data exposure, Combs’ office has worked with CSIdentity and Experian’s ProtectMyID to offer 70 percent discounted credit monitoring services to those affected.

Some customers have signed up for a $29.95 per year service, but Combs’ office said they can get refunds and sign up for the new free service paid for by taxpayer money.

The total cost of the new services to the state is unknown because it isn’t known how many will sign up, Combs said, adding that only a portion of those affected are likely to enroll.

About the credit monitoring offered through the comptroller’s office:

The service, provided through CSIdentity, alerts subscribers to activity such as credit inquiries, or account openings, closings or delinquencies.

CSIDentity also monitors Internet chat rooms and websites for personal information.

Information is available at txfreecredit.csidentity.com. Those affected must enroll directly through the site or by calling 1-877-219-1189 (toll free).

Enrollment is available through July 27.