Russian hackers targeted 21 US states' vote systems in 2016: Official

An official with the US Homeland Security says Russian hackers targeted 21 election systems in different US states during the 2016 race, which yielded President Donald Trump.

Testifying before a congressional panel on Wednesday, Jeanette Manfra, the Homeland Security Department’s acting deputy undersecretary of cyber security, disclosed the number publicly for the first time.

“As of right now, we have evidence that election-related systems in 21 states were targeted,” Manfra (pictured below) told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Both Trump and Russia have denied allegations of meddling in the 2016 election and collusion between his associates and the Kremlin while the issue is being investigated.

Manfra, however, refused to reveal which states were targeted. Last year, Arizona and Illinois confirmed that their voter registration systems had been targeted.

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