Minn. Secretary Of State Says Russian Hackers Targeted His Site Before 2016 Election

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Federal officials say hackers working for the Russian government targeted the Minnesota secretary of state's website leading up to the 2016 election but did not break in.

Minnesota was one of 21 states notified Friday of attempted Russian hacking. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a statement the Department of Homeland Security told him that entities "acting at the behest of the Russian government" scanned IP addresses associated with his office for vulnerabilities, but did not try to get in.

Simon said his office had previously identified the hackers' IP addresses scanning the system and blocked them.

He said such scans happen daily and he has created a security team to protect the system and his office is rebuilding its website on a more secure platform.

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