‘We acted quickly’: How Ga. election officials fought off cyberattack
- Georgia sures 2 million early voters, smashing records
- Giuliani told to give apartment, 26 watches to Ga. election workers he defamed
- Ga. top court refuses GOP bid to restore last-minute election rules
- Ga. presidential choice may hinge on who doesn’t vote
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - In mid-October, Georgia election officials scrambled to stave off a cyberattack on the state’s online absentee ballot portal.
“We acted quickly, mitigated it, and really within a few minutes the whole thing was over,” said Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer for the Secretary of State.
Sterling said the absentee section of its website saw an influx of roughly 420,000 IP addresses attempting to gain access to the website.
“This was a bot-driven attack. It wasn’t widely sophisticated, but it was brute force with a lot of different IPs at one time,” said Sterling.
How Moscow is using Helene to manipulate U.S. voters
Past Russian campaigns have used immigration, racism, crime and the economy. And now Moscow is using Helene to sway the U.S. election.
Friday marked the final day Georgia voters could request an absentee ballot.
Elections officials said they will be monitoring the online portal extremely closely through Friday.
Sterling said while the elections system is secure, he cautioned against voting by absentee ballot given concerns with mail delays.
“I have confidence in our counties, I have confidence the voting system, I’m going to tell the truth, I’m a little concerned with the United States Postal Service right now,” said Sterling.
For those who still wish to vote with a mail-in ballot, he suggested having a loved one or caretaker drop off the ballot in-person at an eligible polling place.
Georgians continue to shatter records with early voting
Election Day is two weeks away, and Georgia is shattering early voting records. The Secretary of State’s Office says to expect even more records during this second week of early voting.
On Thursday, federal cybersecurity officials stood by the election system, not just in Georgia, but nationwide.
“I can say with full confidence that the election infrastructure has never been more secure. Regardless of who you vote for, you can have confidence that your vote will be counted as cast,” said Jen Easterly, director of CISA, or Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
CISA provides to state and local election officials surrounding matters of election security.
Easterly said elections have multiple layers of security with physical and cybersecurity safeguards to protect the system.
She said they test the equipment before election and have post-election audits to ensure accuracy.
She also reminded voters that the voting machines are not connected to the internet.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
