The FBI and CISA issued a joint statement in response to a misleading article that circulated in Russian media yesterday and has already gone viral. The article claims that hackers breached U.S. election systems and leaked American voter data shortly before this year’s election .
Specifically, the FBI and CISA said they have not seen any attacks targeting databases and election systems. According to an article published by the Russian news agency “Kommersant,” a Russian hacker obtained files containing data on about 8 million American voters in Michigan after breaking into the state’s database in March.
Additionally, according to Kommersant, the hacker claimed to have in his possession records for voters in Connecticut, Arkansas, Florida and North Carolina, but in smaller numbers. He added that he leaked all the databases, making them available for free on a hacking forum since July. While most voter records in US states are available for free, the hacker claimed that at least the Michigan voter database contained personal and sensitive information that constitutes “private fields,” such as email and dates of birth.
On the other hand, in a joint statement posted on Twitter, CISA and the FBI claimed that no such breach occurred. They also stressed that they have not detected any malicious interference with the country's election systems. Specifically, the two agencies pointed out that they have not discovered any cyberattacks this year on voter registration databases or systems that involve voting.
Michigan and Connecticut officials also denied allegations that hackers breached their systems, in statements to NBC News' Kevin Collier. The two states also reminded American voters that their respective voter databases are public, meaning anyone can obtain them for free or by filing a FOIA ) request.
However, that didn't stop the Kommersant article from going viral and causing panic among American voters. Furthermore, the fact that thousands of Americans shared a story from a Russian news site without questioning its authenticity sparked a storm of reactions, with Facebook and Twitter announcing that they were shutting down a Russian news site that published misleading articles about US politics.
