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Nevada not among states targeted by Russian election hacking

Updated September 22, 2017 - 4:44 pm

CARSON CITY — Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske said Friday that Nevada was not one of the states identified as being targeted by Russian-linked hackers in relation to the 2016 election.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials notified 21 states on Friday that their voting registration systems were targeted by Russians. All 50 state election officials were contacted by the DHS, which left it up to each state whether to report the information.

“Our cybersecurity experts are aware of the threats posed by hackers and remain vigilant in their mission to keep elections in Nevada free from interference from malicious actors,” she said in a statement. “The Secretary of State’s office will continue to work cooperatively with local, state, and federal partners to ensure the security of our election system.”

Among the targeted states was Wisconsin, where election officials said in a statement that “Russian government cyber actors” unsuccessfully targeted the state’s voter registration system in 2016. Wisconsin officials said Russians scanned internet-connected election infrastructure, likely seeking specific vulnerabilities such as access to voter registration databases, but the attempt to exploit vulnerabilities was unsuccessful.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.

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