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US Voter Records From 19 States Is Being Sold on a Hacking Forum, Threat Intelligence Firms Say (zdnet.com)

Catalin Cimpanu, reporting for ZDNet: The voter information for approximately 35 million US citizens is being peddled on a popular hacking forum, two threat intelligence firms have discovered. "To our knowledge this represents the first reference on the criminal underground of actors selling or distributing lists of 2018 voter registration data," said researchers from Anomali Labs and Intel471, the two companies who spotted the forum ad.

The two companies said they've reviewed a sample of the database records and determined the data to be valid with a "high degree of confidence." Researchers say the data contains details such as full name, phone numbers, physical addresses, voting history, and other voting-related information. It is worth noting that some states consider this data public and offer it for download for free, but not all states have this policy.

4 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Duh by Tulsa_Time · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It is worth noting that some states consider this data public and offer it for download for free

    So why not make it clear in your headline what % of the data is not public before getting all excited...

    --
    5 out of 6 people enjoy Russian Roulette & 6 out of 7 Dwarfs are not Happy
    1. Re: Duh by youngone · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Please note A/C that in many US states voters also have to register their party preference.
      It is one of the many, many little ways the Republicans and Democrats keep their cosy little duopoly going and prevent the people of the US from having any real choice about who rules them.

  2. They is? by Type44Q · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Records is getting sold, is they?

  3. Re:"history" may be misleading by bobstreo · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Keep in mind, that the "voting history" in the summary is easy to sensationalize. In most cases it only means you were issued a ballot, and possibly for mail-in ballots that you returned it. No state has a history of what actual voting selections were made.

    You hope.