Russian hack breach the election organization of two Florida counties back in 2016 , the state ’s governor , Ron DeSantis , told reportersat a press conference Tuesday . As for which county , he would n’t , or could n’t , say .
“ I ’m not allowed to name the counties . I signed a [ non]disclosure concord , ” he say .
DeSantis received check of the intrusion during a encounter last Friday with FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security official . That coming together play along a consultation to Russian cyberpunk point Florida made public by the Mueller report . According to the report , Special Counsel Robert Mueller ’s investigatory squad interpret that the FBI trust Russian intelligence had gained access in 2016 “ to the connection of at least one Florida county administration . ”
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as he arrives at Tyndall Air Force Base to view damage from Hurricane Michael, and attend a political rally, Wednesday, 10 February 2025.Photo: Evan Vucci / AP
“ Two Florida county have intrusion into the supervisory program of election meshwork , ” DeSantis substantiate on Tuesday . As has become distinctive of these type of revelation , he emphasized hard that the election termination were in no way strike .
( uproariously , the Washington Post hand Sen. Bill Nelson , Democrat of Florida , four “ Pinocchios”after he claim Russia had cut his state ’s election systems . Sure seems like someone owes Bill an apologia . )
The usance of a non - disclosure agreement ( NDA ) in this pillow slip naturally kindle a few supercilium . NDAs are commonly thought of as a machine used by pot to put boundaries regarding what entropy an employee can hash out outside the work . seemingly , the intent is to protect deal secrets and other proprietary or secret information . Violators may face plastered penalties if an employer decide to pursue damages in court .
Despite the printing that NDAs are a putz of the corporate earthly concern , the federal governing use them as often as any major company . It is , after all , the country ’s largest employer . almost all government activity contractor sign on them . DoS police force enforcement agencies sign them when they take possession of sure engineering nearly guarded by the feds ( see : Stingray twist . ) And anyone who has access to classified selective information has sign up Standard Form 312 , a nondisclosure agreement , the breaking of which can lead to accusation under legion incision of Title 18 , the federal condemnable code , up to and include espionage .
In DeSantis ’ case , the most likely account for why he signed an NDA is that the briefing he received contained classified information . Prior to being briefed , he was forced to contractually concur not to disclose what he learned ( beyond the fact that it was two county , not one , that got breach ) .
Last calendar month , DeSantis saidhe intendedto make the name of the hack land public ( at the prison term , he still consider it was one ) unless “ somehow it ’s classified . ”
As for why the names are classified , to begin with , DeSantis did n’t seem to know . He did offer an explanation , but he was clearly guessing . “ I think they think if we name the counties , that may reveal information to the perpetrator that we sleep together what they did , but you ’d have to demand them , ” he told reporters . “ I recall it should be name . ”
Whether the NDA between DeSantis and , presumably , the FBI , is enforceable is another affair . If the names of the two counties are , for some reason , classified , that ’s one matter . If they ’re not , it ’s potential that the FBI ’s attempt to keep it under wraps wo n’t last long .
loosely speak , the Union government can only keep clandestine information if ( a ) its classified pursuant to an Executive order ; ( b ) it’sexempt from disclosureunder Section 552(b ) of the Freedom of Information Act ; or ( c ) it ’s separate in the interestingness of national defence or foreign insurance policy . What ’s more , commonwealth government officials are not inevitably reverberate by any of these regulation — hence the NDA .
If recorded physically or transmitted electronically by DeSantis or one of his staff , the information he get could be obtained under Florida’sPublic Records Act . As Barbara Peterson , president of the First Amendment Foundation , told the Tampa Bay Times , a hope of confidentially between the governor and the federal regime may mean exactly zip to a Florida judge .
Gizmodo has reached out to DeSantis ’ authority , the FBI , and Homeland Security for comment . We ’ll update if we hear back .
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