Foreign hackers a legitimate concern for ballot machines, says cybersecurity expert

Cybersecurity expert Dena Graziano on Thursday said foreign hackers are a legitimate concern for U.S. ballot machines.  

“I think anything is a justified and legitimate concern,” Graziano told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising,” when asked whether a foreign government changing vote tallies in an election is a valid concern. 

“We’re looking at nation-state actors, who are very well resourced, very well motivated, and I think we have to look at all aspects of security and how we’re securing all of that sensitive data whether it be your [personally identifiable information] or your vote,” she continued. 

Graziano’s comments come ahead of November’s midterm elections, which some U.S. officials have warned could be at risk for foreign interference. 

“I’m sure they went to school to critique what they did in the presidential election in 2016. I think they will find more ways to be subtle, and be a lot less noisy than they were the last time,” former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Politico last month. 

An NPR–Marist survey released earlier this week found that one in three American adults said they think a foreign country is likely to impact results in November’s midterm elections.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is currently probing Russian election interference in the 2016 presidential election. 

— Julia Manchester


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