An alleged attempted breach of Ohio’s Lake County elections network failed as a malicious insider’s plans were foiled. Federal and state officials are now investigating the attempted breach that took place during Ohio’s primary elections in early May.
Reports state that a private laptop was plugged into the county’s network inside the office of Lake County’s Commissioner John Hamercheck. The Washington Post has received confirmation from an FBI spokesperson that the bureau is involved in an investigation of the incident.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose attributed the success of the failed breach to a newly implemented cyber security model that included a “34-point checklist.” In a summary, LaRose said, “This was a success story in that the attempted breach failed.” He continued, “What they didn't realize evidently was first off that we have our guard up, but they also evidently didn't realize that voting equipment, tabulating equipment, is never connected to the internet, so anything that touches a ballot is strictly air-gapped.”
Accounts of the purported incident imply similarities to another attempted election fraud incident that took place in Colorado earlier this year, where government officials are speculated to have assisted an outsider gain access to the internal voting system.
While the entire incident remains under official investigation, it appears that all sensitive data from Ohio’s election was safeguarded, preventing a severe data breach.