FBI Investigates Arizona Voter Data Theft | Epic Google iPhone Hack | Patriot Act Website Surveillance

Plus: These 2 Words And 1 Number Appear In 44 Million Dangerous Passwords

In the middle of last week, a search warrant caught my eye. It was in Maricopa County, Arizona, and it detailed a raid on a man's home just two days after the 2020 election. Computers and hard drives were seized, as the feds were looking for evidence of a cyberattack on an unnamed office and voter data, possibly stolen. The resident's owner turned out to be a 56-year-old IT guy called Elliot Kerwin, who has recently been offering cyber forensics and surveillance services.

After I contacted Maricopa County Recorder, the closest electoral office to Kerwin's home that handled voter data, it soon confirmed that an unauthorized party had taken voter data from its website. A spokesperson said the FBI had been informed and was investigating. It's the first case of an FBI investigation into a hack on an electoral body around the 2020 election and in a county where the Republicans have been fighting tooth and nail to get the vote overturned.

My personal take? There's no indication that this attack would've had any impact on the election result. Voter data can simply be bought for a few hundred dollars in Arizona. If this is the worst cyberattack to have hit the election, you can still be certain the result stands and trust CISA that your vote really was secure.

If you have any tips on government surveillance or cybercrime, drop me an email on tbrewster@forbes.com.

The Big Story

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