Mueller indictment: Russian officials scouted Iowa county elections websites

Brianne Pfannenstiel | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption 12 Russians charged with 2016 election hacking The indictments were announced Friday by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as part of the ongoing special counsel probe into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. (July 13)

Russian military officials allegedly scouted the election administration websites of some Iowa counties as they sought to hack into computer systems and sabotage the 2016 presidential election.

Those allegations are included in an 11-count indictment unveiled Friday as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

In it, 12 Russian intelligence officers are accused of hacking the computer systems of the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

More: 12 Russian intelligence officers indicted for hacking into DNC, Clinton campaign

According to the indictment, those Russian officers targeted state and county offices responsible for administering the 2016 U.S. elections in an effort to steal voter data and other information.

They were successful in hacking into systems with the Illinois State Board of Elections, stealing personal information for roughly 500,000 voters.

Those efforts continued in other states, the indictment said: "For example, on or about October 28, 2016, (defendant Anatoliy Sergeyevich Kovalev) and his co-conspirators visited the websites of certain counties in Georgia, Iowa, and Florida to identify vulnerabilities."

The indictment makes no further references to Iowa.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said Iowa's systems weren't compromised.

"There is no evidence of any unauthorized intrusions into Iowa's election systems," Pate said in a statement Friday. "The Mueller indictment refers to visiting websites, not hacking them. There's a big difference. It's the equivalent of burglars driving around a neighborhood looking for a house they might be able to rob."

He said his office has partnered with all 99 county auditors to strengthen cybersecurity efforts. That includes cybersecurity training and requiring two-step authentication for access to the voter registration database, he said.

"This is a team effort and we are working with county, state and federal entities, including the Iowa National Guard, to protect the integrity of the vote," he said. "Iowans should feel confident their elections are secure and their vote will count."

This is the second time a Mueller indictment has mentioned Iowa.

An indictment unveiled in February said Russian operatives trying to sow discord and distrust during the 2016 presidential campaign bought social media advertisements alleging fraud in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.

It said operatives began promoting a range of allegations of voter fraud by the Democratic Party in the summer of 2016 as the general election race between Trump and Clinton was heating up — including at the caucuses.

“On or about August 4, 2016,” that indictment said, “Defendants and their co-conspirators began purchasing advertisements that promoted a post on the ORGANIZATION-controlled Facebook account 'Stop A.I.' The post alleged that 'Hillary Clinton has already committed voter fraud during the Democrat Iowa Caucus.'