FBI: Ransomware Disruptions during Voting Periods Will Not Impact the Security and Resiliency of Vote Casting or Counting


The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are issuing this announcement to inform the public that while ransomware attacks against state or local government networks or election infrastructure could cause localized delays, they will not compromise the security or accuracy of vote casting or tabulation processes

Ransomware affecting state or local government systems could render certain election related functions temporarily inaccessible via the internet and cause election officials to revert to back-up processes and systems, such as paper records of voter registration lists. While this could impact the timeliness of certain processes, it would not impact the security or integrity of the process around voters casting their ballots and election officials ensuring those ballots are counted as cast.

Read more…
Source: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Division


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • US federal payroll agency hacked using SolarWinds software flaw

    February 2, 2021

    The FBI has discovered that the National Finance Center (NFC), a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) federal payroll agency, was compromised by exploiting a SolarWinds Orion software flaw, according to a Reuters report. NFC provides human resources and payroll services to roughly 170 federal agencies and over 650,000 federal employees since 1973. The software vulnerability used to ...

  • Minnesota: Netgain ransomware incident impacts local governments

    February 2, 2021

    The ransomware incident that Netgain, a provider of managed IT services, had late last year rippled onto its customers. Now, Ramsey County, Minnesota, is informing clients of the Family Health Division program that the hackers may have accessed personal data. The government of Ramsey County learned about the potential breach on December 2, 2020, when Netagin ...

  • World’s Most Dangerous Malware Emotet Disrupted Through Global Action

    January 27, 2021

    Law enforcement and judicial authorities worldwide have this week disrupted one of most significant botnets of the past decade: EMOTET. Investigators have now taken control of its infrastructure in an international coordinated action. This operation is the result of a collaborative effort between authorities in the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Lithuania, ...

  • US Department of Justice Launches Global Action Against NetWalker Ransomware

    January 27, 2021

    The Department of Justice today announced a coordinated international law enforcement action to disrupt a sophisticated form of ransomware known as NetWalker. NetWalker ransomware has impacted numerous victims, including companies, municipalities, hospitals, law enforcement, emergency services, school districts, colleges, and universities. Attacks have specifically targeted the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking advantage of the ...

  • Russian government warns of US retaliatory cyberattacks

    January 23, 2021

    The Russian government has issued a security warning to organizations in Russia about possible retaliatory cyberattacks by the USA for the SolarWinds breach. Last month, the SolarWinds network management company disclosed that they suffered a sophisticated cyberattack that led to a supply chain attack affecting 18,000 customers. The US government believes that this attack was conducted by ...

  • Rob Joyce to Take Over as NSA Cybersecurity Director

    January 19, 2021

    As the incoming Biden administration continues to shake up federal leadership, the National Security Agency announced Friday that Rob Joyce, who is currently serving at the U.S. Embassy in London, was named to lead its cybersecurity division. Joyce will inherit the job from Anne Neuberger, who will leave the post to serve as deputy national security ...