Democratic Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said Tuesday that “partial passwords” to the state’s voting system remained on her office’s website for months before being removed, raising concerns about election integrity. He admitted that he seemed to be taking it lightly.
The Colorado Republican Party said a downloadable file was posted on the Secretary of State’s website. affidavit. The file allegedly contained a list of BIOS passwords for more than 700 voting components in 63 of Colorado’s 64 counties. The party claimed that unidentified officials secretly deleted the file on October 24.
Griswold denied the Colorado Republican Party’s allegations on Tuesday. interview 9News reported that the leaked password was only “part of the password.”
“This is not a security threat,” Griswold said. Asked how many counties were affected, Griswold declined to say.
“At this time, Kyle, we have staff on scene monitoring the situation, but we will clarify once we leave the scene,” Griswold said. “To be clear, we do not consider this to be a complete national security threat.”
Griswold acknowledged that the password was published on his office’s website and “sat there for several months” before being removed. She also claimed that some passwords were not “valid.” He asserted that an investigation is underway with support from the federal government. (Related: A pro-Palestinian message was reportedly found on the device at the time of the ballot box fire.)
Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams sent a letter to Griswold’s office on Oct. 29 demanding immediate action. He also disputed Griswold’s characterization that the breach was not a national security threat.
“As we all know, BIOS passwords give a knowledgeable user complete control over a physically or remotely accessed system, including the ability to manipulate the system and its results. It will be able to remove any trace that she was ever there (even overwriting the basic system logs needed during subsequent audits to show if there was ever any unauthorized access or activity). ),” Williams wrote.
He also requested verification whether the password in question had been replaced.
Heidi Ganard, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate in Colorado, noted that Griswold’s office had previously classified the BIOS password leak as a “major breach.”
If Mesa 2021 was a “serious violation” and not during an election, what is over 600 people during an election? (1/3)@JenaGriswold “Even the disclosure of the BIOS password for one or more components of Mesa County’s voting system would constitute a significant breach….” pic.twitter.com/SdyUyY82mm
— Heidi Ganahl (@heidiganahl) October 29, 2024
“The mere disclosure of the BIOS password for one or more components of Mesa County’s voting system constitutes a material violation of the voting system’s security protocols and a violation of Election Rule 20.6.1,” Griswold’s office said. says. said In a 2021 press release.
Tina Peters, a former Mesa County election clerk, was sentenced to prison earlier this month for allowing unauthorized access to voting equipment. According to Associated Press (AP). In that case, Griswold was popular This case is representative of Colorado’s approach to election security.
“Colorado’s elections are the crown jewel of this nation. I am proud of how we responded to the nation’s first insider election violation and look forward to another safe and successful election in November. ” Griswold said in a statement after the sentencing.
The Daily Caller has reached out to Griswold’s office and the Colorado Republican Party for comment.
