Election Software Vendor: Can Prove No Breach by Russians

A Florida manufacturer of voter registration software says it has proof its systems were not breached by Russians in 2016, Politico is reporting.

VR Systems made its claim in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. A copy of the letter was posted by Politico.

The company said that based on a series of reviews, “we are confident that there was never an intrusion” in its servers or network.

The final report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian election interference said hackers had installed malware on the network of an unnamed voting technology company.

Politico pointed to a leaked National Security Agency document published by The Intercept as indicating that VR Systems was the most likely victim.

Politico noted that in the letter to Wyden, the company does say it received so-called “spearphishing emails” in 2016.

The website said VR Systems hired a company called FireEye to conduct an examination, which found no breach. And an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security in 2018 found no malware on VR system’s network.

However, the company would not share the FireEye report with Wyden, Politico reported.

“It is simply unacceptable that VR Systems is stonewalling Congressional oversight by refusing to provide my office with the report produced as part of its external security audit of its systems from 2017,” Wyden told Politico.

VR Systems sells software containing voter records that are used in Florida and seven other states.

• WashPost: Fla.'s Washington County, Pop. 25K, Hacked in '16
• Report: Russian Hackers Accessed Florida County's Computers in '16