Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered a review of election systems and cybersecurity in his state on Wednesday after it was revealed the networks of two Florida counties were breached in the 2016 election.
In a letter sent, DeSantis, a Republican, directed Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee to review the election systems in all 67 counties of the state, as well as the development of a plan to “identify and address any vulnerabilities” they may find.
“While the breaches did not compromise the outcome of the 2016 election, nonetheless, they highlight the importance of protecting the security of our elections system,” DeSantis said in a statement.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, released last month with redactions, said GRU, the Russian military spy agency, sent spearfishing emails to over 120 email accounts used by Florida election officials in “at least one” county.
After being briefed by the FBI, DeSantis said two data networks were breached. DeSantis said the FBI told him not to reveal the identities of those two counties, but elections officials in those counties were made aware of the hacking.
The Washington Post reported last week that Russian government hackers targeted Washington County, a small county located in the Florida Panhandle with a population of about 25,000 people.
DeSantis’ office said the Florida Department of State and Supervisors of Elections “have taken significant action in the last three years to improve election security,” including the investment of millions of dollars.
