EAST LANSING, Mich. — The CEO of the Michigan-based election software company, Konnech Corporation, was arrested Tuesday as part of an investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office into the "possible theft of personal identifying information" of election poll workers data.
CEO Eugene Yu was taken into custody by investigators from the LA County District Attorney's Office Bureau of Investigation with the help from the Meridian Township Police Department.
The LADA investigators also seized hard drives and other digital evidence.
Konnech Corporation's software, PollChief, is responsible for managing election poll workers in LA County. The software is used to assigns poll workers jobs, for communications and payroll. The software requires that those poll workers submit personal identifying information and that information is retained by Konnech.
That data was supposed to be secured and only U.S. citizens and permanent residents should have had access to it.
"District attorney investigators found that in contradiction to the contract, information was stored on servers in the People’s Republic of China," a news release from the DA said.
“I want to thank my prosecutors and investigators for their commitment to eliminating cyber intrusions against government entities and local businesses,” LA County District Attorney Gascón said in the release.
“Data breaches are an ongoing threat to our digital way of life. When we entrust a company to hold our confidential data, they must be willing and able to protect our personal identifying information from theft. Otherwise, we are all victims. This investigation is concerned solely with the personal identifying information of election workers. In this case, the alleged conduct had no impact on the tabulation of votes and did not alter election results. But security in all aspects of any election is essential so that we all have full faith in the integrity of the election process.”
The contract between the county and Konnech was a five-year, $2.9 million contract.
Gascón said that he is seeking Yu's extradition to Los Angeles.
The East Lansing Police Department and the Ingham County Sheriff's Office also assisted in the investigation.
