Maryland's election system has ties to Russian money

[Stonepounder]

Source: AXIOS

The FBI told Maryland officials that ByteGrid LLC — the election system Maryland uses to handle statewide voter registration, online ballot delivery and more — has ties to a Russian oligarch, reports the Washington Post.

The big picture: States are working to secure their election systems in anticipation of cyber attacks by Russia or other foreign actors ahead of this year's midterms, but each state runs its own system — and there remain vulnerabilities across the board.

In 2015, AltPoint Capital Partners, whose fund manager is a Russian and largest investor is a Russian oligarch named Vladimir Potanin, funded ByteGrid LLC, per the Post.

-ByteGrid LLC has a $7.5 million contract with Maryland that ends in 2019, and the state's attorney general is looking into whether the deal can be terminated.

-"Even the appearance of the potential for bad actors to have any influence on our election infrastructure could undermine public trust in the integrity of our election system," Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said.

-Hogan and other top state officials have sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security asking for technical assistance to test the state's election security.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/maryland-election-system-security-russian-oligarch-daa82c9f-5fdc-4a7a-9238-79be900abaa2.html

[CurtEastPoint]

1. COngress (yeah, right) should pass a law that mandates paper ballots EVERYWHERE.

Enough of this state by state bullshit. THey could do it. They threatened to w/hold $$ if states didn't lower the speed limit...remember? Same thing.

I'm OK w/local control over elections but IMHO, registration methods should be the same everywhere and voting the same.

[Botany]

2. So no 400 lbs man on his bed in N.J.?

For people to deny what happened and is still happening is to say
water is not wet, snow is not cold, and it doesn't get dark @ night.

[AlexSFCA]

3. what about all other states

do we have comprehensive information about voting systems in every state?

[dalton99a]

4. ByteGrid LLC is poison and should be treated like Kaspersky Lab

[sandensea]

5. And Hogan is asking Homeland Security for technical assistance?

"Let me get back to you on that governor; I have to consult with the boss first, and my Russian translator is late."

[FakeNoose]

6. Baltimore Sun has more info in their version

(link) http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-election-russia-20180713-story.html

Thanks for your post Stonepounder! However I try to read the local news version whenever it's available, rather than a rehash on Axios or another news outlet. We can sometimes learn important details from local reporters. This is serious and important because other states are in the same boat as Maryland.

[elleng]

8. Thanks, Noose.

[erronis]

11. Agree. The OP should do enough in-depth analysis to find some real sources. Thanks!

[elleng]

7. Posted yesterday.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10562431

[turbinetree]

9. So I am going to call my Secretary of state on Monday and demand paper ballots.........

because I live in Maryland................
And as for Hogan sending a letter to DHS, let me think, this is the same witch, that basically said fuck refugees trying to come into the country................and on top of that let me just help take children away from parents....................and your going to ask the DHS to help....................she was nominated by a a fucking traitor................. .

[Honeycombe8]

10. OMG. How stupid are these people...to use RUSSIAN cyber-anything?

And to ask Trump's people for assistance in testing the system against Russian hacking to effect a Republican win, is beyond mind boggling.

[erronis]

12. But the tendrils reach very deep. It is increasingly hard to find out who has control over what.

Fortunately we have some trustworthy investigative agencies within the US (and other) governments and we have recently had a bunch of fantastic news and fact collection organizations that have been able to put together millions of dots.

Would we have ever learned about the Panama or Paradise papers without some incredible reporters and supporting organizations? Even in the NSA/FBI/... had been hot on the trail, the exposure and incrimination and sanctions would have taken years - if ever.

An independent and critical-thinking fourth estate is essential. It doesn't include rt or fox.

[erronis]

13. And just to add to my prior comment. I use an awful lot of software that has connections to USSR/ru

I'm not suggesting boycotting anything that has russian-sounding names in their CEO/credits. These are too easy to fake with new names, shell companies, etc.

If anyone reading this uses anti-malware/virus-checkers/VPNs/system backups, please let us know how you perform due-diligence to make sure there are no bad actors along the chain-of-command and within the tech/distribution departments. I don't know how to do this either.

[duforsure]

14. After hearing last week

A smaller bank in Maine has been getting 100 or more hacking attempts a day from russian hackers. Their cyber attacks are wide spreading , and getting more areas of our infrastructure industries. We've already heard they've done this to nuclear power plants and regular power plants. When will media start asking trump over and over again when is he going to stop these russian cyber attacks from putin? trump should be put on the spot asking these and other questions about why he's doing nothing , and refuses to accept the facts now. Ask him also why is he attacking our Democracy with putin.