The website of a county election office in southeastern Florida is raising questions and concerns about the security of the Supervisor of Elections office in the Bay area.
A professional security expert named David Levin, from Estero, Florida, says he hacked into the Lee County Supervisor of Elections Office website to make a point that their website needs increased security. Levin told our sister station WFTX-TV that the security passwords for the website were not encrypted, and therefore available to anyone with a knowledge of accessing a website through the "backdoor."
Levin says he is now being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but says he did not acquire any personal information of voters.
In a YouTube video posted by Dan Sinclair, a candidate for the Supervisor of Elections position in Lee County, Levin talks to Sinclair about how he hacked the website, and why. The video is dated January 25.
FDLE confirms to WFTX that there is an "active investigation."
The Supervisor of Elections Office in Hillsborough County says they do frequent tests for vulnerability, and encrypt their passwords to make sure they are general safe from hackers. When reached for comment, the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office and the Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Office would only say that they are "confident" their websites and servers are secure.
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