Government probe into state voting systems hack 'is being expanded' amid fears Russia is trying to influence the election

  • Security officials called to brief Congress on hacking threat, it is reported
  • Government 'is sending out an alert to election officials across the US'
  • Alert will warn of risks from hacks and how to prevent them, it is reported
  • Comes after FBI said Russian-backed hackers were behind voter database attacks in both Arizona and Illinois 

The government probe into hack attacks on state voting systems is being expanded, according to reports.

Law enforcement officials were summoned to Captiol Hill in order to brief House and Senate leaders on the investigation, according to CBS News's Jeff Pegues.

The meeting comes as government officials are poised to send out an alert to election monitors across the country about the attacks, sources said.

Law enforcement officials were summoned to Capitol Hill and told to brief Congress on the threat of hacking to local voter systems after Arizona and Illinois were targeted

Law enforcement officials were summoned to Capitol Hill and told to brief Congress on the threat of hacking to local voter systems after Arizona and Illinois were targeted

Government officials are thought to be sending a memo to state authorities on how to prevent attacks after the FBI said government-backed Russian hackers were behind the recent attack

Government officials are thought to be sending a memo to state authorities on how to prevent attacks after the FBI said government-backed Russian hackers were behind the recent attack

The alert is expected to offer states specific assistance and detail preventative measures they can take to make their systems more secure.

FBI Director James Comey sought to play down the danger to voting systems at a recent press conference, while stating his agency takes the attack 'very, very seriously.'

He described local voting mechanisms as 'clunky', saying that helps to isolate them from high-tech hackers potentially looking to draw data from a fiber optic cable, only to 'find there isn't actually a fiber optic cable.' 

FBI investigators have already said they believe government-affiliated Russian hackers are behind attacks on voting databases in Illinois and Arizona this summer.

That has sparked fears that Putin could be trying to interfere with the result of the upcoming general election, though agents say the motivation is far from clear.

The hackers could have simply been engaging in cyber espionage, or harvesting easy data records for their own financial gain, detectives said.

Illinois officials say they have identified 700 individuals whose data was accessed and will be informing them by mail.

FBI director James Comey has sought to downplay the risk to voting, calling local systems 'clunky' and saying that protects them from sophisticated hacking techniques

FBI director James Comey has sought to downplay the risk to voting, calling local systems 'clunky' and saying that protects them from sophisticated hacking techniques

Another 3,500 voters had their records viewed by the hackers, but officials say they will not be able to identify who those people are.

An additional 86,000 people's records are 'strongly suspected' to have been viewed during the attack, which was first detected on July 12 and shut down. 

It also follows on from the release of hacked DNC emails which Democrats and other cyber security experts have blamed on Russia, though the FBI has yet to make a call.

Vladimir Putin has denied that the Russian government was behind that particular attack, but questioned why the source of the information was important.

Speaking ahead of the G20 summit where he and President Obama were pictured locked in a 'death stare', he said: 'Listen, does it even matter who hacked this data? 

'The important thing is the content that was given to the public.'

'There's no need to distract the public's attention from the essence of the problem by raising some minor issues connected with the search for who did it.

'But I want to tell you again, I don't know anything about it, and on a state level Russia has never done this.'

That attack revealed embarrassing emails between top Democratic officials that showed they had conspired against Bernie Sanders during the primary process.

It also forced the resignation of former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz on the first day of the Democratic National Convention. 

 

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