"[T]he FBI believes that this operation enabled the GRU to gain access to the network of at least one Florida county government," the report claims.
During Russia's multi-pronged election interference campaign of 2016 the GRU targeted VR Systems, an electronic pollbook manufacturer that a number of Florida counties use to maintain their voter registration databases. The GRU hackers then sent out phishing emails from Gmail accounts with VR Systems in its name, and with a malicious file attached to more than 120 county election officials.
Many of those emails were ignored, went to spam, or were properly flagged as a potential attack. The special counsel's claim was the first public indication that someone fell for them.
Multiple government officials have repeatedly insisted that there is no evidence hackers changed any votes in either the 2016 or 2018 election, but have stopped short of claiming that hackers were never in a position to make it more difficult for people to vote.
Florida's governor and secretary of state have also said that they were unfamiliar with the 2016 hack, and have requested answers. Gov. Ron DeSantis has also requested an FBI briefing on the subject, but does not have a date set, though his office says it wants it to take place before DeSantis visits Israel on May 25.
Gloss