Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office successfully repelled a cyberattack from a foreign country targeting the website used by voters to request absentee ballots. The attack, believed to have originated overseas, flooded the website with bogus traffic but did not disrupt the ability of voters to request ballots. The cyber defenses, aided by tech firm Cloudflare, were able to prevent the hackers from knocking the website offline. US officials have not publicly confirmed the assessment that the attack was carried out by a foreign entity.
The incident highlights the interest that hackers have in election-related targets, especially during the final days of the US presidential race. Separate from this attack, Iranian government-linked hackers have also been researching and probing election-related websites in multiple US swing states. Despite these cyber threats, there has been no evidence that they have impacted the casting or tallying of votes. Instead, the attacks seem to be aimed at influencing voters’ perceptions of the democratic process.
This is not the first time that Georgia has faced cyber threats. Earlier this year, Coffee County in Georgia was hit with a cyberattack that forced them to sever their connection to the state’s voter registration system. The FBI and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are aware of the recent cyberattack in Georgia and have worked with state officials in response. The incident serves as a reminder of the ongoing cybersecurity challenges faced by election offices.
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