N.C. Election Officials Investigate Russian Hacking

CHARLOTTE, NC -- One day after a bombshell story broke of a National Security Agency document leak detailing Russian efforts to hack into U.S. election software, North Carolina election officials are investigating the impact on its state election, according to a report.

Former NSA contractor Reality Leigh Winner, 25, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation June 3 for allegedly leaking a classified memo to an online news site that said Russian government hackers may have targeted an election-voting software company, as well as election officials.

The software company -- VR Systems -- is used in 21 counties in North Carolina, which has prompted the state election officials to investigate the claims of possible attempts to infiltrate the system, the News and Observer reported Tuesday. Durham County, where widespread software problems lead to almost 100,000 votes being called into question, spurred a monthlong ballot recount and prompted complaints of voter fraud, is one of the counties that uses the VR Systems software, the newspaper reported.

“This agency takes any reports of possible interference with our election processes very seriously,” Kim Westbrook Strach, executive director of the N.C. State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement, said in a statement June 6.

“We are actively investigating reported attempts to compromise VR Systems’ electronic poll book software, which is used on Election Day in 21 of North Carolina’s 100 counties to help check in voters who show up to cast ballots in person. The software is not used during early voting and does not play any role in ballot marking or vote tabulation,” Strach said.

Winner is accused of using her top-secret security clearance to access intelligence reporting on the software company hack, which she then mailed to an online news outlet, possibly The Intercept. The Intercept reporters caution that a single report is not definitive evidence, but they write that if true, the report reveals a much deeper level of attack on the American electoral process than has been publicly known.

Read the full report at The Intercept.

Previously, the American intelligence community has reported on extensive efforts by the Russian government to covertly influence popular sentiment during the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton and in favor of Donald Trump, most notably by releasing hacked emails from the Democratic National Convention and Clinton Campaign Chair John Podesta. Multiple investigative bodies are currently examining these efforts, including possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently denied that any such intelligence operations took place.

“This is all really very shocking and overwhelming,” Winner’s stepfather Gary Davis told reporters following the news breaking of her arrest.

“We love her. She’s a good person. She’s got a lot of friends here in Augusta. She’s dedicated and trying to make the world a better place,” he said.

Watch Winner’s parents speak about her arrest:

Patch editor Deb Belt contributed to this report.

Photo via Pixabay