Georgia’s Secretary of State Accuses Homeland Security of Attempted Hack

Data securityBy Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Georgia’s secretary of state alleges Homeland Security tried to illegally hack the state’s computer network that contains the voter registration database.

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp claims in a letter to Homeland Security that his office discovered that a DHS Internet address tried to breach the computer system, the Hill reports.

The system also contains personal information of more than 6.5 million residents, 800,000 corporate entities and 500,000 licensed or registered professional.

“On November 15, 2016, an IP address associated with the Department of Homeland Security made an unsuccessful attempt to penetrate the Georgia Secretary of State’s firewall,” Kemp wrote. “I am writing you to ask whether DHS was aware of this attempt and, if so, why DHS was attempting to breach our firewall.” 

The hack, if there was one, occurred a week after the election.

Homeland Security said it is investigating.

“DHS takes the trust of our public and private sector partners seriously, and we will respond to Secretary Kemp directly,” said Deputy Press Secretary Scott McConnell.

Other Stories of Interest

Leave a Reply