ATLANTA — Election officials with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office say they expect foreign agents may try to attack and influence the state’s election system.
Despite the warnings, officials said they believe they are prepared for an attack, but not everyone agrees.
Channel 2’s Richard Elliott In a meeting with Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer for the Secretary of State’s office, he said Georgia is better prepared for this type of attack than most other states.
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Still, Sterling Channel 2 Action News A bleak prediction for the upcoming political cycle.
“We are the center of the political universe,” Sterling said. “China, Russia and Iran will almost certainly try to influence and attack Georgia.”
Georgia is a battleground state in the upcoming presidential election, and Sterling said it will likely attract the attention of bad actors in the months leading up to November.
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Georgia counties have already been hit by ransomware attacks that appear to be more crimes of opportunity than targeted attacks, with four occurring in the past five months, including one that hit Fulton County.
But Sterling said Georgia’s Voter Registration Information System, known as GARVIS, would allow the state to halt monitoring of counties where attacks are occurring, preventing the infection from spreading across the state.
“If we hear rumours and it sends chills down our spine, we will be closed down until we can prove it is safe,” Sterling warned.
Still, some cybersecurity experts disagree that the nation’s defenses are in place.
“These attacks are a huge threat to the security of our systems,” said Dr. Richard DeMillo, a cybersecurity expert at Georgia Tech. Channel 2 Action News That means there is still a risk.
“The reality is, there is a risk in Georgia’s system,” DeMillo said.
He said he believes the state needs to do more to secure elections than it is doing now, believes the Secretary of State’s office hasn’t done enough to manage election risks and that counties remain highly vulnerable to attacks.
“That means we have to be extra vigilant, but we’re not hearing that extra vigilantism from the state,” DeMillo said.
Sterling warned about cyber attacks, but also said foreign bad actors would use social media to spread disinformation and try to undermine confidence in our electoral system, and we should all remain vigilant.
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