The FBI’s alert asks that states check with their election boards to report any similar activity.
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According to The Washington Post, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is now under alert after a series of suspected foreign hacks of state election computer systems and websites was reported. In Illinois, the breaches included the theft of data from as many as 200,000 voter records, officials say.
The hack on the voter registration database of IL was successful, prompting the state to shut down the registration of voters in July after the 200,000 records were downloaded.
18 warning follows heightened concern over Russian hacks of Democratic Party organizations and possible meddling in the presidential election. Though The Washington Post reports that nothing within the system had been compromised, foreign hackers were able to steal the username and password of one county election official.
Calkin couldn’t say how often state election databases are targeted in cyber attacks. Menzel has said repeatedly that the hack didn’t compromise voter information. The document, titled “Targeting Activity Against State Board of Election Systems”, didn’t specifically say which two states were targeted although sources reportedly familiar with the matter identified them as Arizona and IL. According to NBC, which cites unnamed intelligence officials, hackers accessed up to 200,000 voter records.
The FBI is urging state election officials to beef up their computer systems’ security in light of two cyberattacks this summer. As a precautionary measure, the state’s entire voter registration was shut down the next day and remained shut down for several days. While two United States officials said there is no definite conclusion that Russian Federation is attempting to do so, the worry is real.
In Arizona, officials said, hackers tried to get in using malicious software but were unsuccessful.
The FBI’s Cyber Division routinely issues flash bulletins to warn election administrators about potential threats.
An interesting detail included in the Federal Bureau of Investigation alert was a list of eight IP addresses that the Federal Bureau of Investigation considered suspicious and potentially linked to the intrusion.
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Officials familiar with the case said the states whose systems were compromised were Arizona and IL, with Arizona taking its voting registration system offline between 28 June to 8 July to allow for alleged security compromises to be examined.
