A Denver district judge on Monday started reviewing the case brought by the Libertarian Party of Colorado against Secretary of State Jena Griswold following a breach involving partial passwords of Colorado's voting systems being released online. The incident came into the spotlight last Wednesday after the Colorado Republican Party highlighted the issue, which Griswold's office reportedly knew about since October 24, as reported by Denver7.
In the wake of the leakage, state officials and voting system manufacturers emphasized the difficulty of exploiting this data, noting that while BIOS passwords need physical access to the voting machines, which are stored in secure facilities under constant surveillance, this simple assurance was under intense scrutiny. According to CPR, Griswold expressed her belief that none of the leaked BIOS passwords had turned up on the dark web or elsewhere on the internet.
Further complicating matters, it was revealed that an employee who had ceased working for the Secretary of State earlier in the year was responsible for creating the spreadsheet that contained the hidden tab with passwords. A subsequent employee, likely not aware of the hidden data, then mistakenly posted the spreadsheet online. Secretary Griswold confirmed that the former employee had left on amicable terms, and the latter still retains their position, as mentioned in the same report by CPR.
While the controversy continues, members of the state’s legislative committee have expressed divergent views on the urgency of investigating the matter. Rep. Lisa Frizell, the committee chair, held off on delivering an opinion until after the election, whereas Rep. Andrew Boesenecker questioned the need for expedited action given the multiple assurances from agencies of non-compromise and updated passwords. "With all respect to Sen. Van Winkle, it’s really hard to understand this request as anything other than a partisan request to undermine voters’ confidence, and I think that’s the last thing we need to be doing in this moment," said Boesenecker, as per The Denver Post, signaling the belief that the situation was being politicized.
