In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said a computer traced back to a DHS internet address attempted to breach its system.
"On Nov. 15, an IP address associated with the Department of Homeland Security made an unsuccessful attempt to penetrate the Georgia Secretary of State's firewall. I am writing you to ask whether DHS was aware of this attempt and, if so, why DHS was attempting to breach our firewall," Kemp wrote.
A copy of the letter was also sent to the Georgia Congressional delegation, according to The Hill.
Kemp said the system contained personal information on 6.5 million Georgians, 800,000 corporate entities and 500,000 licensed or registered professionals. Georgia had not given its permission for DHS to scan or test its network, Kemp added.
The intrusion, which took place a week after the presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, was detected by a third-party security firm working for the state. The attempted hack was apparently unsuccessful.
The Department of Homeland Security had offered its security assistance to states prior to the election, citing concerns over suspected hacking by the Russian government. Among the security services offered by DHS were cyber security scans of state networks, risk and vulnerability assessments, information sharing about cyber incidents and best practices for securing voter registration databases and addressing potential cyber threats.
Georgia was one of the states declining the fed's offer.
Homeland Security spokesman Scott McConnell said DHS had received Kemp's letter and is "looking into the matter."
"DHS takes the trust of our public and private sector partners seriously, and we will respond to Secretary Kemp directly," McConnell told ABC News.
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