Secretary Denney Responds to Security Concerns

Idaho State SealFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: October 17, 2018
Contact: Kristie Winslow, Communications Coordinator
Phone: (208) 332-2818

Boise, Idaho – Earlier this week, Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney became aware of claims made by an actor on the dark web stating voter records from several states are available for sale. Secretary Denney quickly took steps to determine the nature and scope of the issue and is working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) to assist in an investigation.

At this time, the investigation indicates the Idaho data is solely public information. Our DHS contacts have stated this simply looks to be someone attempting to take available, public information and then packaging it for sale. There are no indications this data is the result of a compromise of any Idaho Secretary of State system.

“While this information is available publicly for legitimate, political or research purposes, the law prohibits anyone from using this information for commercial purposes,” said Secretary Denney. “We are prepared to work with the Attorney General to prosecute any misuse of this information.”

Updates and additional information will be made available at https://sos.idaho.gov/press-releases/.

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ABOUT LAWERENCE DENNEY

Lawerence Denney has served the people of Idaho since 1990. His public service began as a representative in District 13 and, following redistricting, then became a representative in District 9 until 2014. During this time, Denney served two terms as Majority Leader and three terms as Speaker of the House before successfully running for state office as Idaho’s Secretary of State. He is currently in the fourth year of his first term as Secretary of State.

System Upgrade In Progress

Campaign Finance, Lobbyist Reporting, and Online Voter Tools are expected to be offline from April 9th at 5:00 p.m. MDT, through April 12th at 8:00 a.m. MDT to complete a system upgrade.

Per Idaho Code 67-6607, campaign finance is reported monthly during a campaign’s election year. The deadline for the March report falls on Saturday, April 10th. Due to the interruption caused by this upgrade, political treasurers will be allowed to file the March report until 11:59 p.m. MDT on Monday, April 12th.

While we do our best to ensure compliance with all deadlines in statute, the timing of this release is critical to ensure minimal (or no) impact to the May election cycle. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.