Arizona secretary of state calls for more cybersecurity funding after potential Iranian hack

PHOENIX — Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is highlighting the importance of cybersecurity funding for government websites in light of a hack his office endured last month.

“Well, still we really think it was the Iranians,” Fontes told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday. “We don’t know for sure 100%.”

While the hackers didn’t access the voter registration space, this issue illuminates a longstanding cybersecurity shortcomings that need funding to solve, he added.

“Here’s the bottom line: In 2023, during the budget process, when I was asking for funds, I made a modest request and I said, ‘Look, we need a couple million bucks so we can shore this thing up,'” Fontes said.

Some of the systems have code from the 1990s, so this is a problem that has lasted for generations, he added.

Why is Iran suspected in Arizona website hack?

The reason why authorities suspect Iran is involved is because photos of Iran’s late leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, popped up throughout Arizona’s online candidate portal.

“They went right in and uploaded images and they changed images going back many many years of the candidates to the ayatollah’s face, so you’d see names like Jeff Flake and there’s the ayatollah,” Fontes said. “You’d see my name and there’s the ayatollah.”

He said his office caught wind of cyberattack on June 23 and moved quickly to contain the breach, which occurred shortly after the U.S. military carried out airstrikes on three sites in Iran. President Donald Trump said the purpose of the airstrikes was to support Israel’s campaign to dismantle key elements of Iran’s nuclear program.

Arizona secretary of state calls for more funding to fix outdated websites

“We started this budget year, at the beginning of this month, 3/4 of a million dollars in the hole,” Fontes said.

He hopes to get the ball rolling at an upcoming Joint Legislative Budget Committee meeting.

“What we’re going to need to do is augment for a total of $10 million dollars one time and $3.5 million dollars ongoing to get this thing done,” Fontes said.

It’s critically important because Fontes said only three or four people in the U.S. know how to use the coding languages for some of Arizona’s government websites, he added. In recent years, authorities have developed a strong security perimeter around these servers to protect against potential cyber threats — but this recent breach shows the need for more funding.

“We’re putting this thing together with duct tape and two-by-fours,” Fontes said. “These are exactly the systems that I’ve been asking to secure over the years and the budget process down at the state capitol has continued to starve government.”

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