Colorado accidently put voting system passwords online, but officials say election is secure

The Colorado Secretary of State's agency says voting strategy passwords were mistakenly put connected nan department's public-facing website

DENVER -- Voting strategy passwords were mistakenly put connected nan Colorado Secretary of State's public-facing website earlier being spotted and taken down, but nan lapse did not airs an contiguous threat to nan upcoming election, said authorities predetermination officials Tuesday.

The passwords were 1 of 2 unsocial passwords needed to entree Colorado's voting systems, and are conscionable 1 portion of a layered information system, said Jack Todd, spokesperson for nan the Secretary of State's office, successful a statement.

Colorado’s apical elections official, Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold, often calls Colorado nan golden modular for predetermination security. However, she has been criticized by nan president of nan Colorado Republican Party amid heightened scrutiny complete predetermination systems successful nan United States.

Election officials learned past week that nan spreadsheet, which held nan passwords successful a hidden tab, was disposable online, conscionable days retired from nan Nov. 5 election.

Once nan lapse was discovered, Todd said, nan section took contiguous action, informed nan Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and is moving to remedy nan business wherever necessary.

The executive head of nan Colorado Clerks Association, Matt Crane, told 9News that while nan lapse was concerning, nan relation is satisfied pinch nan Colorado Secretary of State's response.

“The truth is, is this a concern? Yes,” Crane said. “Is it being mitigated? Yes.”

The passwords tin only beryllium utilized in-person to entree nan voting systems, and Colorado rule requires that nan instrumentality is surveilled and stored successful unafraid rooms entree to which is tracked and logged.

Earlier this month, a Colorado region clerk, Tina Peters, was sentenced to 9 years down bars for a data-breach strategy based successful mendacious claims astir voting instrumentality fraud successful nan 2020 statesmanlike race. Peters was recovered blameworthy by a assemblage of allowing a man to misuse a information paper to entree a region predetermination strategy and for being deceptive astir that person’s identity.