STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS CHARLES W. SCHOLZ Chairman ELECTION NEWS ERNEST L. GOWEN Vice Chairman ELECTION NEWS 100 W. Randolph Street Suite 14-100 Chicago, Illinois 60601 312-814-6440 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE STEVEN S. SANDVOSS Executive Director ELECTION NEWS 2329 S. MacArthur Blvd. Springfield, Illinois 62704 217-782-4141 www.elections.il.gov CONTACT: KEN MENZEL 312-814-6440 ILLINOIS VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM RECORDS BREACHED CHICAGO, IL – August 31, 2016 – The Illinois State Board of Elections was the victim of a cyber-attack of unknown origin which targeted the Illinois Voter Registration System database (IVRS). Board Staff became aware of the breach on July 12, 2016, and immediately took measures to stop the intrusion. Since the discovery of the breach, staff has worked to determine the scope of the intrusion, secure databases and web applications, comply with state law regarding exposure of personal information records, and assist law enforcement in their investigation of the attack. At this time, both IVRS and the Paperless Online Voter Application (POVA) websites are fully functional. Additionally, the State Board of Elections can confirm that neither voting history information nor voter signature images were captured. Although the investigation continues, the Board is confident that no data in the IVRS database was added, changed or deleted. It appears that approximately one-half of one percent of the records in the database were viewed, and many of those only contained information that is otherwise publicly available from other sources. The Board is cooperating with the FBI in an ongoing investigation and a detailed report of the breach is available on the Board website at www.elections.il.gov. The State Board of Elections can confirm that approximately 700 voter records were viewed and those 700 individuals will soon be notified by mail as required by law. In addition, approximately 86,000 records are strongly suspected to have been viewed and the Board staff continues to identify those individuals. Anyone within that group will receive written notification within the next thirty days. There appear to be 3,533 records viewed which will not be able to be identified. If a voter’s records were viewed, hackers could have obtained the voter’s name, address and date of birth. If the voter provided a phone number, email address, driver’s license number or the last ILLINOIS VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM RECORDS BREACHED August 31, 2016 Page 2 four digits of his or her social security number when registration occurred, that information may also have been viewed. Even if a voter’s record was viewed, the Board is sure no records have been altered or changed in any way. The cyber-intrusion was a complex attack, involving thousands of lines of encoded inquiries. Upon becoming aware of the cyber-intrusion, the Illinois Attorney General, the General Assembly and all Illinois election authorities were notified. Several news sources reported it at that time. Press coverage has escalated in recent days now that other states appear to have been impacted and there is FBI involvement. If at any time a voter suspects that they are the victim of identity theft, he or she may contact the Illinois Attorney General’s Identity Theft Hotline at 1-866-999-5630 or 1-877-844-5461 (TTY) The State Board of Elections is an independent state agency charged with the responsibility of having general supervision over the administration of election laws of the State of Illinois. Elections are administered locally by the State’s 109 election authorities. ####