WASHINGTON –  U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today pressed the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) John Kelly to disclose additional information on the full scope of foreign attempts to interfere in the 2016 elections by hacking into, or attempting to target, state and local election systems. The letter comes one day ahead of an open hearing of the Intelligence Committee on the same topic.

“While I am not aware of evidence that the 2016 voting process itself was subjected to manipulation, and have no reason to doubt the validity of the election results, we know that the DHS and FBI have confirmed two intrusions into voter registration databases in Arizona and Illinois by foreign-based hackers, though no data was modified or deleted.  At the same time, there was suspicious activity aimed at the election databases of multiple other states,” wrote Vice Chairman Warner in a letter to Secretary Kelly.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 21 at 9:30 AM, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will hold an open hearing on “U.S. Election Security: Russian Interventions and the Outlook for 2018 and Beyond.” The hearing will feature two panels focusing on Russia’s cyber efforts against our election systems in 2016, American response efforts, potential threats to the 2018 and 2020 elections, and how we are postured to protect against those threats.  The first panel will include expert witnesses from DHS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the second panel will include witnesses from the Illinois State Board of Elections, the National Association of State Election Directors, and an expert on election security.  

Wrote the Vice Chairman in today’s letter, “Overall, the breadth and scope of the 2016 intrusion attempts underscore the intention of the Russian government to undermine confidence in our election systems. I strongly believe that the answer to such efforts to interfere in our elections is to harden our cyber defenses and to thoroughly educate the American public about the danger posed by these attacks. I therefore urge you to work closely with state and local election officials to disclose publicly which states were targeted, to ensure that they are fully aware of the threat, and to make certain that their cyber defenses are able to neutralize this danger. We are not made safer by keeping the scope and breadth of these attacks secret.”

The full text of Vice Chairman Warner’s letter to Secretary Kelly appears below. A PDF is available here.

June 20, 2017

The Honorable John F. Kelly

Secretary of Homeland Security

Washington, D.C.  20528

Dear Secretary Kelly:

I am writing to request that you urgently work with state election officials and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to disclose publicly the full scope of foreign attempts to interfere in the 2016 elections in the United States by hacking into, or attempting to target, state and local election systems.

I am deeply concerned about the danger of future foreign interference in our elections. A January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment concluded that Russia obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple U.S. state and local electoral boards. While I am not aware of evidence that the 2016 voting process itself was subjected to manipulation, and have no reason to doubt the validity of the election results, we know that the DHS and FBI have confirmed two intrusions into voter registration databases in Arizona and Illinois by foreign-based hackers, though no data was modified or deleted.  At the same time, there was suspicious activity aimed at the election databases of multiple other states.

The good news is that these attempts were not successful in 2016. The bad news is that it is clear that these will not be the last attempts that we will see, and the next electoral cycle in 2018 will provide further targets for hackers.  Some states, including Virginia, have major elections upcoming this year, underscoring the urgency of this issue. 

Overall, the breadth and scope of the 2016 intrusion attempts underscore the intention of the Russian government to undermine confidence in our election systems. I strongly believe that the answer to such efforts to interfere in our elections is to harden our cyber defenses and to thoroughly educate the American public about the danger posed by these attacks.

I therefore urge you to work closely with state and local election officials to disclose publicly which states were targeted, to ensure that they are fully aware of the threat, and to make certain that their cyber defenses are able to neutralize this danger. We are not made safer by keeping the scope and breadth of these attacks secret.

Additionally, I appreciate that your Department designated the nation’s election infrastructure as “critical infrastructure” in January, to allow for better information sharing with, and the prioritization of cybersecurity assistance to, state and local jurisdictions. I request that you provide an update to the Committee on what actions the Department has taken since this designation to improve and increase such assistance. 

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely Yours,

Mark R. Warner

U. S. Senate

Vice Chairman

CC: Acting FBI Director Andrew G. McCabe

National Association of Secretaries of State

National Association of State Election Directors

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