A senior U.S. cybersecurity official has said that Russian hackers successfully penetrated the voter registration rolls of several U.S. states prior to the 2016 presidential election. Jeanette Manfra, head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security, said Russia targeted 21 states, and “an exceptionally small number of them were actually successfully penetrated.” NBC News said Wednesday that it had contacted the 21 states that were targeted. Five states, including Texas and California, said they were not attacked. Many of the states said they weren’t provided specific details from the government about the cyberthreats. Others said they were waiting for the government to provide cybersecurity help.n The revelations have sparked fears that Russia or another foreign government could try to interfere in future elections using cyberattacks and other tactics.
