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The personal information of Wisconsin voters may have been purchased and posted to a cybercriminal website, cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows said in a note obtained by Fox News.
The data was allegedly purchased by someone on the website the "thedonald[.]win" and then posted for anyone to access on Raidforums, which Digital Shadows described as a popular cybercriminal forum.
The post on Raidforums is entitled “WI statewide voter data & absentee data from https://badgervoters.wi.gov/.”
.MADISON, WI - NOVEMBER 03: Poll worker Rebecca Brandt, center, feeds a voting tabulation machine with absentee ballots in the gym at Sun Prairie High School on November 3, 2020 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The entire gym was dedicated to counting the absentee ballots (Photo by Andy Manis/Getty Images)
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“I purchased the remaining $25,025 full WI voter data, please spread around,” the poster said on thedonald[.]win site.
The database contained full names, physical addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and more, Digital Shadows added.
“The leaked information has the potential to enable threat actors to launch malicious campaigns, including spearphishing or other types of social engineering attacks, spread disinformation to influence future elections, or create the appearance of voter fraud,” Digital Shadows said in the research note sent to Fox News.
While voter data is accessible by the public in the U.S., it is not to people outside the U.S., such as cybercriminals in Russia, Digital Shadows cyber threat intelligence analyst Ivan Righi told Fox News in a phone interview.
Righi, who confirmed he was able to visit the full list on the site, said a massive list like the one allegedly purchased can be used by criminals to personalize phishing emails or for stalking and harassment.
Criminals have expressed a lot of interest in the list, meaning that they will “likely leverage it to conduct criminal activities,” Righi added.
As of Wednesday, the post received more than 11,980 upvotes and 1,090 comments on thedonald[.]win website.
It is lawful to purchase voter data. The site Badgervoters states that “this site allows you to…Create a request for voter data from the Wisconsin Voter Registration System (WisVote)…Receive a quote (estimated cost and number of voters that meet the request criteria).”
A computer-generated quote that Fox News got from the Wisconsin Elections Commission Badger Voters site for a statewide list of Wisconsin voters plus a list with absentee data was $25,000.
Public access to voter data varies by state as indicated on the National Conference of State Legislatures' website.
Wisconsin is “open to public inspection and electronically accessible by any person,” according to NCSL.
Digital Shadows also identified another database advertised on RaidForums that allegedly contained voter data for Pennsylvania citizens. This database was also shared on the "thedonald[.]win" site and had full names, dates of birth, and physical addresses.
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