Florida Governor Orders Security Review Of Election Systems

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered a review of election security measures throughout the state Wednesday, including all 67 counties, following "recent information" from federal officials that Russian hackers gained access to voter databases in two Florida counties ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

In a letter to Florida Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee, DeSantis noted that the breaches did not compromise the election outcome but said they highlight the importance of protecting Florida's election systems.

"Accordingly, I direct the Department of State to immediately initiate a review of the security, particularly the cybersecurity of our state's elections systems and the elections systems of Florida's 67 counties," DeSantis stated in the letter. See also FBI's Secrecy About Russian Election Hacking Untenable: FL Reps

The governor has said that he signed an agreement with the FBI not to disclose the names of the counties involved, but that election officials in those counties were aware of the intrusions.

More than $14.5 million in federal election security grants was distributed to supervisors of elections in 2018, while Florida also provided $1.9 million in funding to purchase and install ALBERT network monitoring sensors that can detect cyber threats and quickly alert officials when data may be at risk, according to state officials, who said Florida has more ALBERT sensors than any other state.

Following a briefing with FBI and Homeland Security officials last week, bi-partisan Florida members of the U.S. House of Representatives held a news conference in which they expressed outrage that Florida officials were never informed of the breach.

The 2016 hacking incident came to light last month when the 448-page report by White House Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was released. The report referenced the fact that Russian hackers had launched a phishing attack on the database systems of elections offices throughout Florida.

DeSantis also ordered the Department of State to develop a plan to identify and address any vulnerabilities.

"You are further directed to make this a top priority of the department, and report your findings to the executive office of the governor upon completion of your review," the governor's letter said.

DeSantis said his administration will continue to place a high priority on election security and protecting voter information.

"Public faith in our elections is the bedrock of our democracy and we must do everything within our power to preserve the integrity of our elections systems," the governor added.

Patch editor D'Ann Lawrence White and the Associated Press contributed to this article.