Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Wednesday he has “a lot of confidence” in the security of America’s electoral infrastructure despite concerns about intrusions by cybercriminals.
(FOX)- Johnson’s declaration, in response to a question from Fox News, follows recent hack attacks on two different state election websites that are believed to have been the work of Russian actors, according to sources.
Those actions, which were disclosed in an August FBI bulletin distributed to law enforcement agencies and obtained by Fox News, urged states to contact their respective Boards of Elections to determine if they had experienced any similar activity.
While he would not comment directly on the cyber activity, citing an ongoing FBI investigation into the matter, Johnson said he could assure the American public that DHS is up to the challenge of safeguarding state election systems. He added that election officials should consult the department on cybersecurity matters.
“The Department of Homeland Security is in a position to shore up electoral infrastructure,” the DHS chief said. “We are in a position to help – to offer best practices, information sharing, vulnerability assessments, incident response.”
The recently disclosed hacks, which successfully compromised the election system of one state and targeted an election website in another state, have added fuel to already loud concerns over the potential for foreign nationals to influence the 2016 presidential race.