× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Confusion swirled Tuesday about whether Russian hackers tried to access Wisconsin voter registration data in 2016, as new information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says the attempts instead were directed at another state agency.

An email to the state Elections Commission from Homeland Security official Juan Figueroa was released by the commission Tuesday. It says a state IP address that was targeted last year is linked to the state Department of Workforce Development.

That differs from an account given Friday by the elections commission, based on information received that day in a call with Homeland Security officials.

It said scanning for security vulnerabilities by Russian cyber-actors in 2016 was directed at Wisconsin’s “Internet-connected election infrastructure,” likely as part of a bid to access the voter registration database.

The commission’s administrator, Michael Haas, confirmed Tuesday that Homeland Security officials were clear in the Friday phone call that Wisconsin’s voter database was targeted.

“Either they were right on Friday and this is a cover-up, or they were wrong on Friday and we deserve an apology,” commission chairman Mark Thomsen said of the new information offered Tuesday by Homeland Security.