The FBI has urged officials to secure election systems ahead of the US presidential elections. US officials have grown wary of cyber attacks on state and federal infrastructure following a series of hacks.
The FBI’s cyber division issued a confidential “flash” alert to state officials on August 18 saying it launched an investigation in light of evidence that hackers breached voter data systems in two states, Deutsche Welle reported.
An FBI spokeswoman said on Monday that the bureau does not comment on specific alerts, but noted that it “routinely advises” on “various cyber threat indicators observed during the course of our investigations.”
The warning came days after Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson hosted a call with state election officials to discuss cyber security and election infrastructure.
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not aware of a particular cyber threat to voting systems in the US, it is “critically important” to secure election infrastructure amid a rapidly changing security landscape, the DHS said in a summary of the call.
US officials have been on edge following a series of cyber attacks on federal targets, including the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) in 2015.
In July, whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks published thousands of emails that showed a concerted effort by senior officials of the Democratic National Party to undermine US Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign for the White House.
