The Georgia secretary of state’s office confirmed on Wednesday that it was the target of a failed cyberattack earlier this month. According to an official, the attack was an attempt to crash the state’s absentee voting website and was detected on October 14 when a significant spike in access attempts occurred. Over 420,000 attempts were made from around the world in what officials described as a coordinated effort to bring the site down.
Security experts were able to successfully prevent the attack. While the origin of the cyberattack remains unknown, the office suggested it could have been orchestrated by a foreign entity.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is aware of the attempted attack and worked closely with Georgia’s secretary of state’s office in its aftermath. The FBI declined to comment on the incident.
Meanwhile, Georgia voters have turned out in record numbers for early voting, which began on October 15. On the first day alone, 310,000 ballots were cast, more than doubling the 136,739 ballots cast on the first day of early voting in 2020.
