Florida: 'Possible' More Counties Than Now Known Were Hacked In 2016, Florida Officials Say | Miles Parks/NPR
Florida lawmakers were angry Thursday when they emerged from an FBI briefing that left them with unanswered questions about the two county election offices in their state that were breached by Russian cyberattacks in 2016. The bipartisan group of members of Congress was most frustrated with not learning about the hacks sooner. The first word of at least one intrusion came from a single line in special counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted report, which was released publicly in April. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis then confirmed on Monday, after his own briefing with the FBI, that Russian attackers actually breached two Florida counties. “This chaotic dribs and drabs of information that’s coming out is doing more harm to our constituents’ faith in the electoral system than just coming out and providing some information,” said Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Democrat who represents Florida’s 7th District. The lawmakers were briefed on which of Florida’s 67 counties were successfully breached, but they, like DeSantis, said they could not disclose that information.