Washington voters’ personal data – including cell numbers and email addresses – was easily accessible via the state’s voter registration until Victory-endorsed candidate Tina Podlodowski identified the issue and informed officials Wednesday. Access to the data was quickly shutoff after Tina explained the problem in a letter to her opponent Secretary of State Kim Wyman, yet the data had been vulnerable since 2012, raising serious questions about Wyman’s competence.
“The breach was real and hopefully fixed,” Tina said. “However, (Wyman) should submit to a full cyber audit done by the cyber security officer (which is outside the secretary of state’s office) and not just rely on her own people.”
#Update to story below. It was @Tinapo, @KimWyman12 opponent, who brought security loophole to @secstatewa attention pic.twitter.com/scQNaiiHsk
— Natalie Brand (@NatalieBrandK5) September 9, 2016
Tina has criticized Wyman for declining voter turnout, and her failure to identify an issue that may have led to a significant data breach could further erode turnout among Washingtonians concerned about their personal information being compromised when registering to vote. Tina has made increasing voter turnout and streamlining access to the ballot box the central issues of her campaign, while her opponent has failed to support efforts to make the voter registration process easier.
In a letter thanking Tina, the state’s chief information security officer said: “Thank you again for following the industry standard for responsible disclosure of a potential cyber security issue and helping keep the citizens data safe.”
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