Voting machine problems aren’t cyberattacks, but cybersecurity expert says ‘we’re not out of the woods yet’

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Voting machine problems Tuesday in Spalding County in Georgia and Rochester, N.Y., were being monitored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, officials said. They urged the public to be wary and patient.

DHS officials maintained these were typical challenges with election technology and there was no indication of malicious activity.

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During a conference call with reporters, Director Christopher Krebs said at the briefing he does not see any kind of cyberattack out there at this point.

"When you see tech challenges or failures, it is very, very, very, rarely a cyber issue, based on everything we've seen, that's what's going on out there," he said.

Krebs added that the states were addressing the issues with their respective vendors. He asked for patience.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Krebs said. “Today, in some sense, is half-time. There may be other events or activities or efforts to interfere and undermine confidence in the election. So I’d ask all Americans to be patient, to treat all sensational and unverified claims with skepticism, and remember technology sometimes fails and breaks.”

In Spalding County, local sheriff officials confirmed the technical difficulties, which happened at locations across the county shortly after voting began, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

The problem was being addressed but officials warned of longer lines to vote.

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The station reported paper ballots were being used for the time being.

Fox News’ Jake Gibson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.