Hall County, Georgia, is now one of the first districts to suffer from a breach amidst the upcoming elections, targeted by an attack that exposed the county’s database of voter signatures. The county has claimed that the voting process remains unimpacted by the ransomware attack, the incident proves how important it is that municipalities maintain heightened cybersecurity measures as the election fast approaches. The ransomware attack was first reported on October 7, however, it remained undisclosed until October 22.
The county released a statement claiming that the voting process had not been impacted, however, phone services and critical systems within the local government networks were impaired. County employees are able to pull voter registration cards manually, however, mail-in ballots have been used at a record high due to the COVID-19 pandemic and this could prove to be a more lengthy task. The county has allegedly sent out over 27,000 absentee ballots, receiving 11,000 back. The signatures must now be verified through a time-consuming process and will not be tabulated until Election Day.
