Three years after 2016 election, we still don't know extent of Russian hacking efforts. Gov reports say Russians hacked an elections tech company & installed malware on its network. But the company says no. Here's my deep dive into that enduring mystery politico.com/news/magazine/…
The story includes newly uncovered documents, including email sent in 2016 by head of the Natn'l Assoc of Secretaries of State to its members stating that DHS "confirmed" to her that a Florida company was breached. Former DHS official tells me @FBI was the source of that info.
VR Systems, which appears to be the company referenced, says it wasn't hacked and a forensic inv. proves it. But there are questions about that investigation. There are also questions, however, about whether the gov reports are wrong. FBI could easily clear up mystery, but won't.
Why does it matter? VR Systems makes electronic pollbook software that was used in 23 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in 2016 and in 64 of Florida’s 67 counties, as well as six other states. It also makes voter reg software and controls web sites that report election results.
We know VR Systems was indeed targeted by Russians. If company was successfully hacked, it placed customers in Florida, North Carolina, elsewhere at risk of being hacked. VR Systems accesses customer systems remotely, which opens potential pathway for hackers into those systems.
VR Systems software, electronic pollbooks and election results web sites experienced problems in 2016 in North Carolina and Florida, during the period the Russians were targeting the company. But there has been no definitive investigation into what caused those problems.
DHS/FBI have insisted they have worked hard over last 3 yrs to inform election officials in timely manner about risks they face. But lingering questions about what happened in 2016 mean that officials still don't have all the info they need going into 2020.
Big shoutout and thanks to my editors at @politico - @mikebfarrell and @williamduryea - for all of their hard work on this piece
“The FBI and DHS keep reassuring the public that they've ‘got this,’ but the lack of transparency and visibility into the investigations [of what occurred in 2016] doesn’t inspire confidence or provide assurance to the public that we can trust the process,” said Susan Greenhalgh.
"Elections demand transparency. Concealing the investigations and findings from the public directly undermines trust and confidence," she added.
