Security News > 2020 > October > Report: Ransomware Disables Georgia County Election Database
A ransomware attack that hobbled a Georgia county government in early October reportedly disabled a database used to verify voter signatures in the authentication of absentee ballots.
According to a report in the Gainesville Times, the attack also disabled the county's voter signature database.
An update Thursday evening on the county website said "The voting process for citizens has not been impacted by the attack." However, a county official quoted by the Times said signature verification was slowed because employees had to manually pull hard copies of voter registration cards in many cases.
An international ransomware syndicate known as Doppelpaymer appears to be involved in the Hall County attack.
Crumley, the county spokeswoman, did not respond to an email asking how much ransom that attackers had demanded and whether the county had paid a ransom.