Trump’s DHS Notifies 21 States Their Election Systems Were Targeted By Russian Hackers

President Trump’s Homeland Security Department notified 21 states Friday that Russian hackers targeted their election systems before the 2016 election.

The Department of Homeland Security says the hackers scanned internet-connected election infrastructure likely seeking specific vulnerabilities such as access to voter registration databases, but the attempt to exploit vulnerabilities was unsuccessful.

DHS has not released a list of the 21 states notified on Friday.

“[R]ecognizing that state and local officials should be kept informed about cybersecurity risks to election infrastructure, we are working with them to refine our processes for sharing this information while protecting the integrity of investigations and the confidentiality of system owners,” DHS Spokesman Scott McConnell said in a written statement to The Hill.

McConnell later added: “As part of our ongoing information sharing efforts, today DHS notified the Secretary of State or another chief election officer in each state of any potential targeting we were aware of in their state leading up to the 2016 election. We will continue to keep this information confidential and defer to each state whether it wishes to make it public or not.”

The Wisconsin Elections Commission announced that it was one of the states notified by DHS officials.

Arizona and Illinois announced that voter roles connected to the internet had been hacked by Russia before the election.

Trump on Friday renewed his claims that the Russia probe is a giant hoax.

“The Russia hoax continues, now it’s ads on Facebook. What about the totally biased and dishonest Media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary?” Trump tweeted.

The Russia hoax continues, now it's ads on Facebook. What about the totally biased and dishonest Media coverage in favor of Crooked Hillary?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 22, 2017