Feds believe Russians hacked Florida election-systems vendor
(CNN)Federal
investigators believe Russian hackers were behind cyberattacks on a
contractor for Florida's election system that may have exposed the
personal data of Florida voters, according to US officials briefed on
the probe.
The hack of the
Florida contractor comes on the heels of hacks in Illinois, in which
personal data of tens of thousands of voters may have been stolen, and
one in Arizona, in which investigators now believe the data of voters
was likely exposed.
The
FBI, in the coming days, is preparing to provide updated guidance to
state elections officials around the US aiming to help them spot
suspicious activity on their computer networks. Several states have
reported attempted scans of their computer systems, which often is a
precursor to a breach.
Previously,
Illinois officials have said data on fewer than 90,000 people may have
been affected by a breach there, and Arizona officials said they saw no
indications hackers accessed data in their systems.
The
vendor hack in Florida prompted the FBI last week to coordinate an
emergency call with county election supervisors who operate the election
system in the perennial battleground state. CNN has not confirmed the
name of the vendor that suffered the attack.
ABC News first reported that Florida election information was compromised.
Investigators
believe a local contractor in California was the target of a hackers,
but the systems accessed weren't related the elections, U.S. officials
said.
A spokeswoman for the
Florida Secretary of State said: "We currently have no indication of a
Florida-specific issue. The Florida Voter Registration System database
is secure. The Department of State does not utilize a vendor for voter
registration services. The Department has in place many safeguards to
prevent any possible attempts from being successful."
An
FBI spokeswoman said the bureau and the Department of Homeland Security
hosted a conference call with Florida state officials to address
questions regarding the security of election systems and to share
information regarding the general nature of the cyber threat. FBI and
DHS continue to work closely with state officials to assist them in
safeguarding their election infrastructures.
In
the case of Arizona, US officials say the working assumption by
investigators is that hackers were able to access data, even if there
are no signs of tampering. Arizona officials maintain they've found no
signs that hackers got in.
"We
have no updates, our story hasn't changed," a spokesman for the Arizona
secretary of state said. "We have seen no access into statewide
registration database and no manipulation of that database."
FBI
investigators believe the the hacks and attempted intrusions of state
election sites were carried out by hackers working for Russian
intelligence.
The cyberattacks on
election registration sites are focused on parts of the US election
system that wouldn't affect the votes cast or the vote counts, according
to US officials. Instead, the intruders are targeting registration
systems.
In a statement last
Friday, the Director of National Intelligence and the Homeland Security
Department formally blame Russia for hacking political organizations,
including the Democratic National Committee, and orchestrating the
release of private emails in an attempt to meddle in the US elections.
The statement said the US government wasn't yet ready to attribute the hacks of election registration sites.
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