Security News > 2020 > October > Georgia Election Data Hit in Ransomware Attack
Ransomware gangs have officially entered the 2020 election fray, with reports of one of the first breaches of the voting season, on Hall County, Ga. The county's database of voter signatures was impacted in the attack along with other government systems.
Although the county said the voting process hasn't been impacted by the ransomware attack, the incident is a warning to other municipalities to lock down their systems, particularly in these last days leading up to the election.
Ransomware attacks involve a criminal introducing malware into the target's systems, which then takes over an organization's data and encrypts it until a ransom is paid.
"A ransomware attack has occurred involving critical systems within the Hall County government networks, including an interruption of phone services," according to a news release.
Ransomware attacks timed this close to Election Day threaten to throw an already contentious competition into total disarray.
News URL
https://threatpost.com/georgia-election-data-ransomware/160499/
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