Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes says she’s working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to investigate a report that the state’s voter database is being sold on the dark web.
According to a piece on technology news website ZDNet, Kentucky’s statewide voter list is one of 19 databases reportedly up for sale on a popular hacking forum. Researchers say the lists could contain information such as full names, addresses, voting history, and other voting-related data.
The hacker set a price of $2,000 for Kentucky’s data.
In a statement, Grimes says she has no reason to believe the state’s voter registration system has been compromised, but that the “revelation that this data is being peddled on the dark web and could potentially fall into the hands of bad actors greatly concerns me and should every Kentuckian.”
The top election official goes on to say she’s called for more oversight of the State Board of Elections to keep the process secure, though Grimes is currently under the microscope for her handling of the voter rolls. Two high-ranking state Board of Elections officials have accused Grimes of improperly accessing voter data, a claim that is being investigated by an independent counsel appointed by Attorney General Andy Beshear.
