Georgia election authority declares successful defense against probable cyber assault, presumed to originate from an international source.
The state's digital defense, supported by tech company Cloudflare, successfully fended off hackers trying to take down the online portal for requesting absentee ballots, ensuring no disruption for voters.
Gabe Sterling, an election officer in Georgia's secretary of state's office, shared with CNN that while the assault slowed down their systems momentarily, they remained operational.
The source of this digital onslaught was presumed to be overseas and bore the signature traits of a foreign power or entity acting under foreign direction, as per Sterling's assessment. However, US authorities have yet to publicly endorse this viewpoint.
Approximately half a million IP addresses from various nations bombarded Georgia's website with misleading traffic, Sterling revealed during a Wednesday interview.
Experts suggested this appeared to be an exploratory attack, probing to gauge the response if such actions were carried out in the future, Sterling explained.
CNN reached out to Cloudflare, a cybersecurity firm based in San Francisco, for comment.
The FBI and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were cognizant of the assault and collaborated with Georgia's election office in the wake of the incident, as sources told CNN. The FBI declined to issue a statement, while CISA redirected queries to the Georgia authorities.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the interest hackers demonstrate in election-related objectives, with the US presidential race approaching its concluding stages. Throughout an election cycle, diverse cybercriminals and state-funded hacking groups may exploit political campaigns and election offices for their purposes.
To date, none of the cyber attacks have impacted vote casting or tabulation. The goal, instead, is often to affect voters' confidence in the democratic process.
Following the Georgia incident, Microsoft reported on Wednesday that Iranian government-linked hackers had explored and investigated election-related websites in multiple US swing states, possibly to uncover weaknesses that could be capitalized upon to manipulate the election.
Election offices in Georgia have previously faced digital threats.
Georgia's Coffee County was targeted by a cyberattack in April, compelling the county to break ties with the state's voter registration system as a precautionary measure, as earlier reported by CNN.
In the context of the digital defense against hackers attempting to disrupt the online portal for requesting absentee ballots, this incident highlights the ongoing risks in the realm of [politics], with election-related objectives becoming a prime target for cybercriminals and state-funded hacking groups.
Moreover, the reported exploration of election-related websites in multiple US swing states by Iranian government-linked hackers underscores the significance of maintaining vigilance and enhancing cybersecurity measures in the political sphere.
