Hackers access info of 600K Shelby County voters

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - A Shelby County polling machine reportedly hacked at a hacker's conference in Las Vegas.

According to an article on Gizmodo.com, the hackers accessed information belonging to 600,000 Shelby County voters.

"For someone to get your information that's not a good feeling at all," voter Anette O'Neal said.

It's a revelation that has Shelby County voters like Anette O'Neal worried.

"They have all your information and they can take it further," O'Neal said.

According to Gizmodo, a used Shelby County electronic polling book was sold on Ebay and taken to a hacker's convention in Las Vegas were it only took minutes for hackers to gain access  to the information.

Polling books typically store names, addresses, party affiliation, and whether you voted absentee. Machines like these typically are wiped clean of information.

"It bothers me that the device got out there more than anything," certified ethical hacker Jeff Horton said.

Horton sat down with the WMC Action News 5 Investigators. He said most of that information is already public record or could have been leaked in previous political breaches.

He said the real concern is the possibility that hackers will use the info to manipulate future votes.

"Alter the info that is stored on the machine, make more than the info that's stored on it," Horton said

Shelby County Election Commission said it is investigating the hack and working to learn all of the particulars about how it happened and what needs to be done next.

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