Vulnerability Management

Georgia’s Kemp accuses Dems of failed hack of voter reg system

As an already contentious governor’s race in Georgia draws to a close, the Republican candidate, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, has accused the Democratic Party of Georgia of “a failed attempt to hack the state’s voter registration system.”

Kemp’s office said it wouldn't comment on the probe. “I can confirm that the Democratic Party of Georgia is under investigation for possible cyber crimes," Kemp’s press secretary, Candice Broce, said in a release. "We can also confirm that no personal data was breached and our system remains secure."

The allegations, which were made without evidence, were immediately renounced by Democrats and called into questions by security pros who pointed to numerous previous vulnerabilities in the state’s election system that some contend the Kemp’s office ignored.

Democratic Party of Georgia Executive  Director Rebecca DeHart, in a statement, called Kemp’s allegations “a political stunt” that underscores why he shouldn’t be overseeing the election.

“Does the Georgia Secretary of State have the forensics capability and expertise necessary to investigate their own potential breach?” former Facebook CPO/CISO Alex Stamos tweeted. 

On Sunday night, Stamos told Rachel Maddow that there was a history of election system vulnerabilities reported to Georgia officials meeting with inaction and sometimes hostility. 

A number of groups have said there were “serious issues” in Georgia that have been ignored with researchers being threatened, Stamos said, adding that this time Kemp was “making really reckless claims without evidence to back it up.”

Apparently, a Georgia businessman alerted the FBI to a vulnerability and possible incursion into the voter registration system.

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