Officials have revealed that the personal information of D.C. voters may have been compromised in a recent data breach. It was discovered that a server owned by DataNet Systems, which held a copy of the board’s voter roll, may have been accessed by unauthorized individuals. The voter roll contained sensitive information such as partial Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, and contact details.
Initially, it was believed that fewer than 4,000 voters were affected, but further investigations revealed that a hacking group known as RansomVC claimed to have breached voter records and accessed around 600,000 lines of U.S. voter data, including those related to D.C. The breach occurred through a breach of DataNet Systems’ web server, and the internal servers and databases of the Board of Elections were not directly compromised.
The Board of Elections is now collaborating with various law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity experts to investigate the breach and determine the full extent of the compromised voter information. While the Board of Elections website undergoes maintenance, D.C. residents can still register to vote safely and securely online, using paper forms, or in person.
