Russian Hackers Successfully Infiltrated 4 Voter Registration Systems

[Chain Chungus]

Russian Hackers Targeted Nearly Half of States' Voter Registration Systems, Successfully Infiltrated 4

By Mike Levine and Pierre Thomas Sep 29, 2016, 7:02 AM ET


Nearly half of the states in the U.S. have recently had their voter registration systems targeted by foreign hackers, and four of those systems have successfully been breached, sources tell ABC News.

That amount of targeting and actual infiltration into state election-related systems is significantly larger than the U.S. government has been willing to acknowledge.

Hackers working on behalf of the Russian government are suspected in the onslaught against more than 20 state election systems, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

"There's no doubt that some bad actors have been poking around," FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers Wednesday, without offering any more specifics.

He acknowledged there have been “some attempted intrusions at voter registration databases” since August, when the FBI issued a bulletin to state governments warning that hackers had infiltrated the Illinois State Board of Elections and tried to breach election systems in Arizona.

Top Intel Official Tells Americans to End 'Hyperventilation' Over DNC Hack but Calls Breach Potentially 'Serious'

FBI Chief Responds to Concern Over Cyberthreats to US Election System

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Comey said the FBI is trying to figure out "just what mischief is Russia up to in connection with our election."

He emphasized that voter registration databases -— not the voting system itself — are being targeted by hackers.

"This is very different than the vote system in the United States, which is very, very hard for someone to hack into because it's so clunky and dispersed," Comey said, adding that states should be in contact with the Department of Homeland Security and "make sure that their deadbolts are thrown and their locks are on."

During a separate House hearing on Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said 18 states had reached out to his department seeking assistance in protecting their election systems.

Meanwhile, another top Homeland Security official and the head of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission both said a cyberattack could not change the outcome of the 2016 election.

Dr. Andy Ozment, the assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at DHS, told lawmakers on Wednesday that the hackers who broke into the voter registration system in Illinois and targeted a similar system in Arizona appear to have been looking to copy the personal information in those databases and perhaps then sell that information online. The aim was apparently not to affect the election process, he said.

"We have not seen intrusions intended to in any way impact individuals' votes and actual voting," Ozment said.

For months, the FBI has been investigating what appear to be coordinated cyberattacks on Democratic organizations -- the most damaging so far being the hack of the Democratic National Committee.

Not only did the hack apparently allow cyberoperatives to steal opposition research on Republican nominee Donald Trump, but many suspect it also led to the theft of internal messages that appeared to show efforts by DNC officials to undermine Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders during the primary season.

After those damaging emails were publicly released by WikiLeaks, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down as the DNC's chairwoman. Many suspect Russian hackers are also to blame for these cyberassaults on Democratic organizations.

In late June an "unknown actor scanned a state's Board of Election website for vulnerabilities" and, after identifying a security gap, exploited the vulnerability to conduct a "data exfiltration," or unauthorized data transfer, the FBI said in a recent bulletin.

Then in August, hackers used the same vulnerability in an "attempted intrusion activities into another state's Board of Election system," the FBI said.

"The prospect of a hostile government actively seeking to undermine our free and fair elections represents one of the gravest threats to our democracy since the Cold War,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, , D-Nev., wrote in a recent letter to Comey.

Asked this summer why Russia might be trying to undermine the U.S. political process, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Russian President Vladimir Putin is "paranoid" about the potential for revolutions in Russia, "and of course they see a U.S. conspiracy behind every bush, and ascribe far more impact than we’re actually guilty of."

"They believe we’re trying to influence political developments in Russia, we’re trying to affect change, and so their natural response is to retaliate and do unto us as they think we've done to them," he said.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/russian-hac...ry?id=42435822

Looks like Puppet Trump and his Russian masters really did hack and rig this election. Apparently, democracy has died and in its place we have become Putin's puppet-state with Ronald Dump dancing to a Russian tune.

Election Integrity depends on YOU! - Jill Stein - NationBuilder

[GennGreymane]

Well, lets see what happens.

[ComputerNerd]

Will be interesting.
Do I believe that the likes of Russia would have something to gain from that ?
Absolutely.
Do I actually believe that happened ?
I am less certain of whether there was any significant manipulation.

I worry about the outcome though if it is proven right, more even than it remaining as it is.
That opens up a whole new can of worms, and a rather volatile one at that.

[Jotaux]

Why would these machines be open to an attack like that? Wouldn't they be on closed systems?

[Belize]

Why would these machines be open to an attack like that? Wouldn't they be on closed systems?

Considering hackers got into the Lowes system through wireless AC, I'm not sure how much closed system acutally help.

[Jotaux]

Considering hackers got into the Lowes system through wireless AC, I'm not sure how much closed system acutally help.

Why would there be wireless anything with these machines?

[jackofwind]

Why would there be wireless anything with these machines?

Because people are dumb.

[Stormspark]

Will be interesting.
Do I believe that the likes of Russia would have something to gain from that ?
Absolutely.
Do I actually believe that happened ?
I am less certain of whether there was any significant manipulation.

I worry about the outcome though if it is proven right, more even than it remaining as it is.
That opens up a whole new can of worms, and a rather volatile one at that.

Ok, here's what I think is going on. Tinfoil hat time. Putin wants to put the USSR back together, with him in charge. The main thing preventing this is NATO. Trump has stated that he wants the US out of NATO, and he also said he would comply with Russia's request to withdraw from all former Soviet countries. This would effectively allow Russia to just roll right in and re-take all of them. So if Russia can manipulate the election results to get Trump to win, that is advantageous to them. Trump will roll over any time Putin says so. Clinton wouldn't have.

[Promethieus]

"We have not seen intrusions intended to in any way impact individuals' votes and actual voting,"

So the actual vote count wasn't hacked. Might want to put that in the title or above the post. This is nothing more than fear mongering. Clinton supporters are going to try to find anything possible to overturn the election.

[lockedout]

Well, lets see what happens.

"He emphasized (Comey) that voter registration databases -— not the voting system itself — are being targeted by hackers."

"Meanwhile, another top Homeland Security official and the head of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission both said a cyberattack could not change the outcome of the 2016 election."

This was also done months before the election, at least what's being discussed in this article.

[Deleted]

Russian hackers are Russian hackers... the rest is anonymous and is powerless.

[lockedout]

So the actual vote count wasn't hacked. Might want to put that in the title or above the post. This is nothing more than fear mongering. Clinton supporters are going to try to find anything possible to overturn the election.

Yeah OP is trying to stir the pot and mislead people intentionally.

[rowaasr13]

TLDR: my beloved hag lost and I'm still butthurt. It's all Russians' fault as usual!

[Promethieus]

Yeah OP is trying to stir the pot and mislead people intentionally.

I see it more as the OP fell for the "read the title and skip the juice of the article" trick that commonly happens. It's innocent, but it happens a lot. >.<

[Daerio]

Yeah OP is trying to stir the pot and mislead people intentionally.

Practically the liberal formula for dissemination of information.

[Steve French]

Looks like Puppet Trump and his Russian masters really did hack and rig this election. Apparently, democracy has died and in its place we have become Putin's puppet-state with Ronald Dump dancing to a Russian tune.

Election Integrity depends on YOU! - Jill Stein - NationBuilder

Too bad you didn't bother reading your own copy paste.

"He emphasized that voter registration databases -— not the voting system itself — are being targeted by hackers."

"This is very different than the vote system in the United States, which is very, very hard for someone to hack into because it's so clunky and dispersed"

They are taking information on who's voting, nothing else. Have to love this part though..

"They believe we’re trying to influence political developments in Russia, we’re trying to affect change, and so their natural response is to retaliate and do unto us as they think we've done to them," he said.

So he basically admits they are doing the same or worse over in russia but its okay because instead of calling it "trying to influence political developments" they call it "change".

[Dezerte]

Why would there be wireless anything with these machines?

Need something to do when they're on the loo.

[zerocarbs]

*snippy snip*

Infracted - minor spam

[Steve French]

snip.

I'm sure mods will infract because you're not shitting on trump but.. worth it.

[Espe]

It's all Russians' fault as usual!

Considering how desperate the situation has become in Russia lately there's no doubt they would do or try anything to destabilize world peace.

Putin and the oligarchs can starve their people only so long. They need to shake things up or they will lose their heads soon. Mostly I feel bad for the average citizen who has seen their education and quality of life absolutely tank under his regime.