Klobuchar recently introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to help states block cyber-attacks, secure voter registration logs and voter data, upgrade election auditing procedures, and create secure and useful information sharing about threats

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar issued the following the Department of Homeland Security’s determination that Russian hackers unsuccessfully targeted Minnesota’s election infrastructure in 2016:

“ Today the Department of Homeland Security notified Minnesota that it was targeted by foreign adversaries during the 2016 election. While I am thankful that our security protocols prevented Russian hackers from breaching our election system, other states were breached and it is unacceptable that it took this long for states to be notified. These attacks reiterate the urgent need to improve election cybersecurity and communication between the federal government and state election officials.”   

As Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee with oversight jurisdiction over federal elections, Klobuchar has introduced legislation to improve the security of U.S. election systems and make commonsense improvements to election administration. She and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced bipartisan legislation to help states block cyber-attacks, secure voter registration logs and voter data, upgrade election auditing procedures, and create secure and useful information sharing about threats. Klobuchar and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) have also introduced the bipartisan Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act to strengthen disclosure by requiring federal campaigns to use existing credit card verification protocols to help verify that online credit card donations come from U.S. sources. In June, Klobuchar introduced the Helping State and Local Governments Prevent Cyber Attacks Act to help combat foreign interference by providing state and local governments with the information and resources they need to keep our elections secure and improve voter confidence.

Klobuchar recently led Senate Rules Committee Democrats in a call for hearings and briefings on foreign attempts to hack into U.S. election systems and improving cyber security. Klobuchar also led a group of 26 senators in calling for a full account of the Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) efforts to address Russian cybersecurity threats. In early January, Klobuchar introduced legislation with four other senators to create an independent, nonpartisan commission to comprehensively investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.

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