Top US cyber official says state officials are ‘pleased’ with government support to secure the election, some election administrators say otherwise
This article is more than 4 years old
This article is more than 4 years old
The US has warned Russia against spreading disinformation online during the US presidential election, after an international watchdog said hackers linked to Russia had targeted the Democratic National Committee.
The Department of Homeland Security said on Monday it was investigating a “potential cyber incident” as it looked into reports of Russian attempts to hack into the Democratic National Committee.
However, White House spokesman Josh Earnest acknowledged that US intelligence agencies, which are currently investigating Russia’s meddling in the election, and not the FBI, would determine whether there had been attempts to hack the election-related software on the DNC’s computers.
The DNC’s director of technology, Brad Smith, told reporters on Monday that “there was a vulnerability to our platform”.
In the wake of a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in December, which said Russia was likely behind several attempts to hack into the DNC’s voter registration infrastructure last fall, many have taken to the web to call on the government to act.
But Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and several other US officials have repeatedly said that they were “not looking at that at all”.
The FBI has said it has not seen conclusive proof that Russia hacked the DNC or other Democratic Party organisations, which would have been in violation of US law.
‘The DNC will remain vigilant’
While the FBI declined to comment on allegations of hacking into the DNC, the agency made it clear that the Democratic party must remain vigilant in protecting its data and other critical infrastructure.
“It’s important that the [Democratic National Committee] will remain vigilant against any attempts to interfere in our primary and caucus process,” FBI Director James Comey said in an interview with ABC News.
“Anytime I see reports of any threats or attempts to interfere with our election process, I take them seriously,” he told the program. “I feel strongly that it puts our country at risk.
“And that is why we are now going to be focusing all