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FBI Says Hackers Breached U.S. Election Systems

Rachel StockmanAug 29th, 2016, 10:50 am
 

electronic voting machine via shutterstock

The FBI is sending out a warning that two local state election boards were breached by foreign hackers.  This comes amid increasing concerns from Donald Trump supporters about the possibility of a “rigged” election. Several news outlets are reporting that the hacking occurred in Arizona and Illinois.

In a bulletin the FBI wrote:

The FBI received information of an additional IP address, 5.149.249.172, which was detected in the July 2016 compromise of a state’s Board of Election Web site. Additionally, in August 2016 attempted intrusion activities into another state’s Board of Election system identified the IP address, 185.104.9.39 used in the aforementioned compromise.

According to investigative reporter Michael Isikoff from Yahoo News, the breach in Illinois forced the state to shut down the voter registration system for ten days after hackers got about 200,000 voters’ personal information. The Arizona attack involved malicious software that also targeted the voter registration system. A state official said the hackers were not successful in obtaining the data.

“We need to have paper based voting with meaningful post election audits that are software independent,” filmmaker Jason Smith recently told LawNewz.com. Smith produced the new documentary I Voted? To read more about the country’s vulnerability to election hacks, read our previous in-deth piece on this subject. The FBI has recommended that state election boards conduct vulnerability scans, and adhere to a list of technical requirements to ensure security.

If LawNewz.com receives more information about this breach, we will update accordingly.

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Rachel Stockman - President / On Air Host

Rachel Stockman is President of Law&Crime which includes Law&Crime Productions, Law&Crime Network and LawAndCrime.com. Under her watch, the company has grown from just a handful of people to a robust production company and network producing dozens of true crime shows a year in partnership with major networks. She also currently serves as Executive Producer of Court Cam, a hit show on A&E, and I Survived a Crime, a new crime show premiering on A&E this fall. She also oversees production of a new daily syndicated show Law&Crime Daily, which is produced in conjunction with Litton Entertainment. In addition to these shows, her network and production company produce programs for Facebook Watch, Cineflix and others. She has spent years covering courts and legal issues, and was named Atlanta Press Club's 'Rising Star' in 2014. Rachel graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and Yale Law School.

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