VR Systems, company hacked by Russian, posted election results before polls closed.. [View all]

[HipChick]

The company at the center of the report is VR Systems, a Tallahassee firm that provides elections technology in eight states and to 58 of Florida's 67 counties. Miami-Dade has contracted with VR Systems since 2007, according to county records, and had a $600,000 deal with the firm to provide a Voter Registration System through November, with a $3.9 million option to continue the deal through 2020.

The company had some notable wobbles last year, most visibly during the August primaries in Broward. Vote totals in that county were posted online a half-hour before polls closed, which is illegal under state law. Other errors led to late and sporadic reporting in several other counties.

A probe into the early posting was launched in Broward, but investigators decided the error was simply an accident. "A staff member of ours inadvertently created a link that was a preview of the election results that were not intended to be public," VR's CEO Mindy Perkins told the Sun Sentinel.

But that same month, the newly leaked NSA report shows, Russian military intelligence broke into VR Systems.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/russian-hackers-broke-into-vr-systems-elections-company-used-by-miami-broward-9397965