Official: Russian Hackers Targeted 2016 Montana Election

[appalachiablue]

Source: Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. — Montana's top elections official said Friday that Russian hackers unsuccessfully probed the state's election systems for weaknesses in 2016, an acknowledgment that contradicts his staff's previous comments that Montana was not among the 21 or more states targeted.

Secretary of State Corey Stapleton wrote in his occasional newsletter that Russian agents tried to interfere with the 2016 elections and that "almost half the states (including Montana) were scanned for weaknesses in our elections systems."

"While no votes were changed by the Russians in our 2016 election cycle, there was a clear and significant threat to our nation's ability to conduct fair elections," wrote Stapleton, a Republican.

Elections Director Dana Corson in March told The Associated Press in response to a 50-state survey on election security that Montana was not among states targeted by hackers in 2016. At the time, Corson declined to speak further about the state's election security measures, saying: "We can't discuss things with election security."...more...

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/official-russian-hackers-targeted-2016-montana-election/ar-BBL9lEJ

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"Scanning for weaknesses is different from attempting to hack," Stapleton said. "We have used restraint because you don't want to alarm people. It is also improper not to let people know that that threat exists. To find that balance, we have actually chosen to use the words that (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) has advised us."
U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Russia may attempt to disrupt U.S. elections again this year. The attempts to hack into the election systems of at least 21 states in 2016 did not succeed in manipulating any votes, but U.S. security agencies have said they did manage to gain access to the voter rolls in Illinois.

[Botany]

1. The Hill: Nearly 150,000 attempts to hack SC voter registration system on Election Day

http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/342274-nearly-150000-attempts-to-hack-south-carolina-voter-registration-system


South Carolina is 35% African American and 10% (and growing) Hispanic

[appalachiablue]

4. Thanx for posting, impt. SC state demographics & election info. from 2017.

July 16, 2017, The Hill, 'Nearly 150,000 attempts to hack SC voter registration system on Election Day: Report.'

Hackers tried to infiltrate South Carolina’s voter registration system nearly 150,000 times on Election Day 2016, according to a South Carolina State Election Commission report detailed in The Wall Street Journal. South Carolina, which President Trump won by a wide margin during the election, did not find evidence that would suggest the attempted breaches were successful, the paper reported. The publication said most of the hacking attempts in South Carolina likely came from automated computer bots.

The report comes as the federal probe into Russian election meddling and possible ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin continues. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security said in June that Russian hackers targeted election-related systems in 21 states leading up to Election Day.The Obama administration has said that voter databases in Arizona and Illinois were targeted by foreign hackers. Trump has doubted on whether Russia was behind the hacks, saying it could have been anyone...

http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/342274-nearly-150000-attempts-to-hack-south-carolina-voter-registration-system

[Botany]

6. Republican "wins" in many cases and over many years...

.... have been dirty. Ever since they passed HAVA (help America vote act) we have seen a red state shift in voting that did not and still does not reflect the changing demographics and how the majority feel about the issues.

In 2008 precincts in Bedford Sty. and Harlem produced 0 votes for Obama in the primaries. Republicans have been cheating for years but in 2016 the Russians took it to a new level. I might be wrong but the outing of this data and the exposure of the GOP's use of "dirty elections" is why so many Republicans in Congress are getting out now.


Sorry to ramble.

[appalachiablue]

8. Maliciousness that I'm sure has been in effect for yrs. *Info. much appreciated.

[appalachiablue]

17. Foreign involvement along with domestic voter suppression

by discriminatory new voter laws including ID requirements; states changing hours and moving polling locations; removing voters from the rolls via Crosscheck and other schemes; Diebold in 2004 and election fraud in 2000. All cutting away at our essential, democratic right to vote and have our votes counted.

[pecosbob]

2. So, let me see...

They're all freaking liars.

PAPER BALLOTS NOW...

[nature-lover]

3. How are officials so confident that votes were not changed? Too scary to say ....

...that they really don't know or to acknowledge that they could have been?

[Lonestarblue]

7. They don't know.

And state election officials have had cozy relationships with electronic voting equipment manufacturers that delivered on promises to elect Republicans (google Diebold and Ohio 2004 election irregularities). We need to worry about more than Russian hackers. We need to worry about Republican officials who are willing to do anything to see Republicans stay in power. It would not be that hard to hire hackers to reprogram some votes. Poll workers and watchers would have no way of knowing if that happens. Another thought I had today in relation to the 2016 Russian hacks is whether they used the access they gained to plant a back door into programs so they do not have to rely on someone falling for phishing attempts. Russians do seem to plan ahead.

[Fred Sanders]

9. If the purpose of the election system hacking was to sow discontent and distrust in the results then

some posts on this thread are evidence it worked. Do not take my word for it, take a look at all of the indictments Mueller and the FBI have filed. Russians attacked in plain sight...they wanted us to all know the election count MIGHT be corrupted. Discontent and distrust.

I have grudging faith in the counting, no evidence counts were changed as opposed to minds changed or influenced by the social media and Wikileaks propaganda. The latter more deadly than the former and near impossible to prove.

Let us ignore the first part of the attack, it was technically ineffective, and concentrate for now on the second and current problem...more propaganda attacks.

[nature-lover]

11. You are certainly correct about the propaganda. We have to stay alert and all commit to register...

... those around us to vote.

[JonLP24]

13. Trump is President

I don't need any help from the Russia's to have distrust in the election results. Russia clearly wanted Trump to win to further their national interests. They don't give a damn if we are happy about it.

[nature-lover]

10. And Repubs will claim that the fix was in if they lose because trump has been so hard on Russia.

I hope that we are planning ahead more than it looks like we are. Calling my TX congressmen again. Don't really know if it helps, but it makes me feel better.

[Fred Sanders]

14. There ya go again, the sowing of dicscord and distrust...I am not playing along with Putin's goal.

[nature-lover]

15. That is not my intent. I am stating my concern.

[Maven]

5. Our country is under attack and the treasonous GOP is complicit

Democrats will need to be smart and have their own cyber task force to defend against these attacks. Republicans are all-in on aiding our enemy as long as it helps them win. Add it to the list of battles we need to fight (along with gerrymandering, voter ID laws, etc.) just to get fair representation in our government.

[2naSalit]

12. K&R

[Farmergene]

16. Even if

There were vote or tally changes the Republicans absolutely would not admit it especially if the final count benefited them.