The District of Columbia Board of Elections (DCBOE) confirmed a security incident involving voter records due to a data breach at a third-party service provider.
DCBOE, an independent agency within the District of Columbia Government, manages ballot access, elections, and voter registration. They discovered the breach on 10/5.
In an official statement, DCBOE stated that their internal databases and servers remain uncompromised. The breach occurred at DataNet, the service provider hosting the DCBOE’s website.
A relatively new ransomware group, RansomedVC, initially reported the breach. They claim to have infiltrated DCBOE’s systems and obtained more than 600,000 lines of voter records from the United States.
District of Columbia Board of Elections Lost Voters’ Personal Data
The compromised data includes individuals’ names, driver’s license numbers, phone numbers, birth dates, addresses, email addresses, partial Social Security numbers, voter IDs, registration dates, political party affiliations, and polling place information.
DCBOE stressed that most of the exposed information is usually public, except for cases legally designating it as confidential per DC regulations. Non-confidential data is available upon request from DCBOE.
After discovering the breach, DCBOE took immediate action. They initiated an investigation with the help of data security experts and federal government partners, including MS-ISAC, the FBI, DHS, and OCTO. Additionally, DCBOE temporarily took their website offline, replacing it with a maintenance page, and conducted thorough vulnerability scans on their database, server, and IT networks.
DCBOE vows to assess the breach, find vulnerabilities, and enhance security for voter data and their systems. The agency assured the public that they would provide further updates as more information becomes available.
RansomedVC plans to sell the stolen data, including data not legally obtainable elsewhere but hasn’t disclosed pricing details.
The hacking group recently claimed to have breached Sony’s systems.
Sony fell victim to a significant data breach due to a ransomware attack. Two groups, “Stormous Ransomware” and “Ransomware VC,” claimed responsibility for the breach, exposing crucial software tools and data. This incident raises cybersecurity concerns, with “The Actors” suggesting consequences for lax data protection.
