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10_30_24_Headlines Jack Dawson
Colorado Secretary of State posted spreadsheet with voting system passwords
The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office inadvertently posted a spreadsheet with partial voting system passwords to its website.
According to 9News, Colorado’s Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold said the Excel spreadsheet containing the partial passwords was up on the office’s website for several months before the error was realized.
Excel spreadsheets have a feature that allows you to “hide” a tab, but It takes just one click to “unhide” it. The individual who discovered the error allegedly clicked that button according to the Colorado Republican Party Vice Chair, and found those hidden tabs with passwords.
The passwords, known as BIOS passwords, are only for one part of the security process of Colorado’s voting machines. Griswold told 9News that she does not see the incident as a “full security threat” to the state and that there are layers of security at an “abundance of caution.”
That’s in-part because the voting machines take two passwords and the second password is held by a different party in a separate place. Passwords can only be used with physical in-person access to a voting system.
A spokesperson for the Office said that QUOTE “the Department is working to remedy this situation where necessary.”The Denver Post reports that the systems were not compromised and the leak has no immediate election security threat, according to the state officials.
Highland Lakes wildfire reaches 60% containment
The wildfire that spread in Highland Lakes has reached 60% containment, and all pre-evacuation orders have been lifted. The fire was confirmed to be human-caused, starting as a structure fire and rapidly spreading due to wind and other weather conditions. A total of 166 acres in Divide were burned. 700 homes had to be evacuated.
Sheriff Jason Mikesell said that the fire could persist due to weather conditions such as moisture and wind. That’s according to an update from The Colorado Sun.
You can find updates on the fire, including evacuations, at tellercounty.gov.
Colorado and Florida based dispensary chain closes for good
Green Dragon dispensaries, an Edgewater-based marijuana producer and seller, has announced its closure in all of its locations. This includes 17 Colorado locations and 39 Florida locations.
According to KVDR, the company which Green Dragon had merged with, called Eaze, decided it would fully cease operations by the end of this year. The CEO of Eaze said the company’s assets were foreclosed on by lenders.
The company will layoff about 59 employees in the state of Colorado, including those who harvest and package products. Florida will see 113 layoffs.
The closure comes as Colorado sees some of its lowest annual marijuana sales in years, as the states hits 10 years of legal cannabis.
Road crews close Independence Pass
A winter weather advisory went into effect on Monday at 6pm in the Colorado high country, where some mountains will receive up to a foot of snow. This includes Aspen and other small mountain towns that will be affected by high winds and snow.
Independence Pass is expecting to see snowy and icy weather this week, leading officials from the Colorado Department of Transportation to close highway 82 in precaution through today. Road crews will determine afterwards if they can open the pass back up.
