Current:Home > MarketsGeorgia restricts Fulton County’s access to voter registration system after cyber intrusion-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Georgia restricts Fulton County’s access to voter registration system after cyber intrusion
View Date:2024-12-24 00:03:36
ATLANTA (AP) — An apparent cyberattack that affected government operations in Georgia’s most populous county is creating challenges for its election office as it prepares for the state’s March 12 presidential primary.
Robert Sinners, spokesman for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, said Thursday that Fulton County’s access to the state voter registration system had been restricted as a precaution. There was no indication election systems were targeted, and county officials were working through plans to begin restoring the connection, county spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt said.
“In an abundance of caution, Fulton County and the Secretary of State’s technology systems were isolated from one another as part of the response efforts,” Corbitt said in a statement. “We are working with our team to securely re-connect these systems as preparations for upcoming elections continue.”
The county, which includes Atlanta, did not respond to questions about whether officials were able to process new voter registration applications and mail ballot requests received since discovering the breach, which the county described as a “cybersecurity incident.”
A document on the county’s website indicated no mail ballot requests had been processed since Jan. 26.
County election officials still have time to do that work, and state officials said they do not expect the issues will affect the upcoming primary. The voter registration deadline is Feb. 12, the same day election offices can begin to send mail ballots to those who requested them.
In-person, early voting is scheduled to begin Feb. 19.
On Monday, county officials said a “widespread system outage” had occurred, affecting the county’s phone, court and tax systems. A county statement on Tuesday listed its election office as being closed but noted that testing of voting machines was still being conducted to prepare for the primary.
Eric Goldstein with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is charged with helping to protect elections, said in a statement that the agency was in communication with county and state officials and is “ready to provide any of CISA’s services that may be of assistance.”
Corbitt said the county took immediate steps to protect its network once the activity was detected and reported the matter to law enforcement. She said the county has hired a cybersecurity firm to help investigate and bring the affected systems back online.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Georgia House Republicans stick with leadership team for the next two years
- OutDaughtered’s Danielle and Adam Busby Detail Her Alarming Battle With Autoimmune Disease
- Bachelor Nation's Clare Crawley Expecting First Baby Via Surrogate With Ryan Dawkins
- RHOBH's Garcelle Beauvais Shares Update on Kyle Richards Amid Divorce Rumors
- Why Dolly Parton Is a Fan of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Little Love Affair
- Make Traveling Less Stressful With These 15 Amazon Prime Day 2023 Deals
- Lady Gaga once said she was going to quit music, but Tony Bennett saved her life
- Sister Wives Janelle Brown Says F--k You to Kody Brown in Season 18 Trailer
- What Just Happened to the Idea of Progress?
- Patrick Mahomes Is Throwing a Hail Mary to Fellow Parents of Toddlers
Ranking
- Auburn surges, while Kansas remains No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll
- Mathematical Alarms Could Help Predict and Avoid Climate Tipping Points
- Nikki and Brie Garcia Share the Story Behind Their Name Change
- Musk reveals Twitter ad revenue is down 50% as social media competition mounts
- Only 8 monkeys remain free after more than a week outside a South Carolina compound
- Navigator’s Proposed Carbon Pipeline Struggles to Gain Support in Illinois
- Twice as Much Land in Developing Nations Will be Swamped by Rising Seas than Previously Projected, New Research Shows
- Tony Bennett remembered by stars, fans and the organizations he helped
Recommendation
-
Auburn surges, while Kansas remains No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll
-
Exxon Accurately Predicted Global Warming, Years Before Casting Doubt on Climate Science
-
Police believe there's a lioness on the loose in Berlin
-
Twice as Much Land in Developing Nations Will be Swamped by Rising Seas than Previously Projected, New Research Shows
-
Tua Tagovailoa tackle: Dolphins QB laughs off taking knee to head vs. Rams on 'MNF'
-
Tony Bennett remembered by stars, fans and the organizations he helped
-
Minnesota Is Poised to Pass an Ambitious 100 Percent Clean Energy Bill. Now About Those Incinerators…
-
Amazon Prime Day 2023 Deal: Get the Keurig Mini With 67,900+ 5-Star Amazon Reviews for Just $60