North Dakota Checks Voter Database Security After FBI Warning

The FBI is warning states to check their election systems particularly voter data base systems.

This comes in the aftermath of the Arizona and Illinois breaches that occurred this summer.

The idea of having your identity stolen is scary enough but the threat of having it stolen because you signed up to vote is one most people wouldn’t have thought possible.

That’s why North Dakota’s getting a head start to make sure it never happens here.

The last thing someone wants to worry about before registering is the possibility of identity theft, but that’s exactly what appears to have happened to an estimated 200,000 people in Illinois.

The attacks are believed to have been carried out by Russian hackers.

“I think it’s unfortunate that it’s happening to voters because sometimes it’s hard enough to get people to want to go out and vote and to put that on top of it that’s alarming,” says Fargo local Jennifer Stark.

The FBI is asking states following the attacks to double check the security of their elections systems to prevent another possible attack.

“What we do have is a state wife database based out of Bismarck and that would be the system they would try to access,” says Cass County Auditor Michael Montplaisir.

A breach in Bismarck’s data base could compromise the personal information of many citizens in the state.

That’s why the state is taking the FBI’s recommendations seriously.

“Well any private information should be well protected and of course the state is the one that would be responsible for that and I’m sure they’re taking every precaution that they can,” says Montplaisir.

The Secretary of State Al Jaeger says there is nothing to suggest there have been any attempted breaches of North Dakota’s systems as of now.

He says that any flaws in the system found during their checks will be fixed and that has locals feeling a bit more secure.

“It helps to be aware when things like that are happening so hopefully we can catch it before anything happens here,” says Stark.

“I think they’re doing a good job on it, jumping on it so it won’t happen as severely as it did in Arizona,” says Fargo local Herb Brady.

If you want to protect yourself from identity theft either from voter registration or from a business click here for a list of tips.