Enlarge / Georgia politician Brian Kemp reads at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony in the state. (credit: Georgia.gov)
Accusations that the US Department of Homeland security tried to hack Georgia's voter registration database are running rampant. But until officials from that state's Secretary of State office provide basic details, people should remain highly skeptical.
The controversy erupted after Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp sent and publicly released a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. In it, Kemp made a series of statements so vague in their technical detail that it's impossible to conclude any kind of hacking or breach—at least as those terms are used by security professionals—took place.
"On November 15, 2016, an IP address associated with the Department of Homeland Security made an unsuccessful attempt to penetrate the Georgia Secretary of State's firewall," Kemp wrote. "I am writing you to ask whether DHS was aware of this attempt and, if so, why DHS was attempting to breach our firewall."