21 states targets of elex hack

NEARLY HALF of the country was targeted by hackers trying to interfere with election systems, federal officials revealed Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security told 21 states they were targeted before last November’s voting, though the majority of attempts are believed to have failed.

Reports last summer said that there had been intrusions into systems in Illinois and Arizona, which were blamed on Russian hackers as part of a widespread alleged effort to influence the election.

Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia, Washington and the swing state of Wisconsin all confirmed the attacks.

Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Michael Haas was told Kremlin-linked scammers “scanned internet-connected election infrastructure likely seeking specific vulnerabilities such as access to voter-registration databases, but the attempt to exploit vulnerabilities was unsuccessful.”

National Security Agency documents leaked to The Intercept by contractor Reality Winner last spring said hackers from Moscow’s foreign-intelligence agency are also believed to be behind cyberattacks of voting software company VR Systems. The VR Systems’ website says its EViD software is used in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.