DHS told 21 states they were targeted for election hacking in 2016

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday notified 21 states they were targeted for hacking by the Russian government in advance of the 2016 election.

In most cases, this targeting amounted only to research and preparation, and no voting machines were compromised in any state. "What this boils down to is that someone tried the door knob and it was locked," explained Reid Magney of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

DHS announced the 21-state figure several months ago but had not previously communicated to the states in question. Friday's notification is intended to give the targeted states, a complete list of which has not been released, time to beef up security before 2018. "We heard feedback from the secretaries of state that this was an important piece of information," said Bob Kolasky, acting deputy undersecretary of the National Protection and Programs Directorate at DHS. "We agreed that this information would help election officials make security decisions."

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In his Friday night speech in Alabama, President Trump again denied election collusion with Moscow. "No, Russia did not help me, that I can tell you, OK?" he said, calling this "hoax" Democrats' greatest achievement of 2016.