Michigan's Secretary of State denies rumors of Russian hackers targeting the personal data of millions of Michigan voters and urges voters to be wary of attempts to "hack" the mind.

The office of Michigan's Secretary of State is asking residents to be wary of attempts to "hack" the mind of voters in the state in an effort to undermine trust in the upcoming election.

Public voter information in Michigan and elsewhere is accessible to anyone through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request. Our system has not been hacked," the department said Tuesday. "We encourage all Michiganders to be wary of attempts to 'hack' their minds, however, by questioning the sources of information and advertisements they encounter and seeking out trusted sources, including their local election clerk and our office.

 

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel echoed a similar sentiment on Tuesday.


Personal information of 7.6 million Michigan voters was obtained and posted on a Russian hacker site in an apparent attempt to solicit money from the U.S. government, as reported by Russian newspaper Kommersant on Tuesday.

Michigan’s Secretary of State denies that this was a data breach of any sort, as the information being posted is already publicly available. If voters suspect misinformation, they should report it to misinformation@michigan.gov.

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