--- description: Russians were responsible for the recent breach of Arizona's voter registration system, the FBI told state officials in June. title: Russians Hacked Arizona Voter Registration Database -Official image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ac05d8762baa288/6988a422fb4eacc66588eea5/fbi-russian-hack.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 elections](/tag/2016-elections/) ## 2016 elections Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Russians Hacked Arizona Voter Registration Database -Official  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 30, 2016 12:56 PM CUT  The Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 26, 2016. The Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 26, 2016.Samuel Corum—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 30, 2016 12:56 PM CUT Russians were responsible for the recent [breach of Arizona’s voter registration system](http://time.com/4471042/fbi-voter-database-breach-arizona-illinois/ "undefined"), the FBI told state officials in June. Matt Roberts, a spokesman for Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan said on Monday that FBI investigators did not say whether the hackers were working for the Russian government or not, the [Washington _Post_ reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-is-investigating-foreign-hacks-of-state-election-systems/2016/08/29/6e758ff4-6e00-11e6-8365-b19e428a975e%5Fstory.html "undefined"). He said hackers gained access after stealing the username and password of an election official in Gila County, rather than compromising the state or county system. The FBI also [uncovered a breach](http://time.com/4471042/fbi-voter-database-breach-arizona-illinois/ "undefined") in the voter registration database in Illinois. The hacks added to concerns about security ahead of November’s presidential election after other attempts by Russia to meddle in U.S. elections. The Arizona and Illinois findings follow revelations about a [Russian hack](http://time.com/4368534/dnc-democratic-national-committee-hack-russia-donald-trump/ "undefined") into the Democratic National Committee computer network in June. At least two other states are investigating possible breaches, [officials told the _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-is-investigating-foreign-hacks-of-state-election-systems/2016/08/29/6e758ff4-6e00-11e6-8365-b19e428a975e%5Fstory.html "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4472169/russian-hackers-arizona-voter-registration/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4472169/russian-hackers-arizona-voter-registration/"},"headline":"Russians Hacked Arizona Voter Registration Database -Official","datePublished":"2016-08-30T12:56:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:16:46.145Z","description":"The voter registration database in Illinois was also recently hacked","url":"https://time.com/4472169/russian-hackers-arizona-voter-registration/","keywords":["2016 elections","russia","Arizona","Illinois","cyber security"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ac05d8762baa288/6988a422fb4eacc66588eea5/fbi-russian-hack.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ac05d8762baa288/6988a422fb4eacc66588eea5/fbi-russian-hack.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US Federal Agency and World Group Buildings","caption":"US Federal Agency and World Group Buildings","creditText":"Samuel Corum—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-elections/","name":"2016 elections"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4472169/russian-hackers-arizona-voter-registration/","name":"Russians Hacked Arizona Voter Registration Database -Official"}}]}] ```