Official: No ‘manipulation’ of data seen in election hacks

FILE - In this June 5, 2015, file photo, the Homeland Security Department headquarters in northwest Washington. A Homeland Security Department official says hackers have targeted the voter registration systems of more than 20 states in recent months. FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers this week that the agency is looking “very, very hard” at Russian hackers who may try to disrupt the U.S. election. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - In this June 5, 2015, file photo, the Homeland Security Department headquarters in northwest Washington. A Homeland Security Department official says hackers have targeted the voter registration systems of more than 20 states in recent months. FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers this week that the agency is looking “very, very hard” at Russian hackers who may try to disrupt the U.S. election. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Homeland Security Department says hackers have made their way into state election systems “in a few cases,” but the federal government hasn’t found “any manipulation” so far of voting information.

Jeh (jay) Johnson says 21 have contacted the agency for help in safeguarding their election systems, and he’s urging additional requests for cybersecurity assistance.

A department official told The Associated Press on Friday that hackers have targeted the voter registration systems of more than 20 states in recent months.

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Federal officials and many cybersecurity experts have said it would be nearly impossible for hackers to alter an election’s outcome because election systems are decentralized and generally not connected to the internet.