A voting software executive has been arrested for giving China access to over two million poll workers in the U.S., according to reports.
Eugene Yu, the CEO of the software firm Konnech, was arrested on suspicion of theft of personal identifying information by investigators from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday.
“I want to thank my prosecutors and investigators for their commitment to eliminating cyber intrusions against government entities and local businesses,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
“Data breaches are an ongoing threat to our digital way of life. When we entrust a company to hold our confidential data, they must be willing and able to protect our personal identifying information from theft. Otherwise, we are all victims,” he continued.
Gascon asserted that “the alleged conduct had no impact on the tabulation of votes and did not alter election results,” and that the integrity of future elections will remain uncompromised.
“In this case, the alleged conduct had no impact on the tabulation of votes and did not alter election results,” the attorney said. “But security in all aspects of any election is essential so that we all have full faith in the integrity of the election process.”
Yu reportedly used Konnech to store sensitive election worker data on servers in China. The company had been previously contracted by Los Angeles County and Allen County, Indiana, to work on election logistics.
Konnech has since issued a statement following Yu’s arrest, saying: “We are continuing to ascertain the details of what we believe to be Mr. Yu’s wrongful detention by LA County authorities. Any LA County poll worker data that Konnech may have possessed was provided to it by LA County, and therefore could not have been ‘stolen’ as suggested.”
China has been working hard to try to breach America’s secrets through espionage. Last week, a Chinese student was charged with spying on the U.S. for China.
According to the Department of Justice, 31-year-old Ji Chaoqun reportedly remained in contact with Chinese government officials while living in Chicago, where he kept Chinese officials updated on information regarding individuals targeted for recruitment by the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security.
Chaoqun was able to enlist in 2016 via the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, which allows U.S. military offices to hire legal foreigners deemed useful for service.
