Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold revealed that voting machine passwords were posted online for four months before they were discovered and deleted as part of a troubling security breach ahead of the election.

Griswold, a Democrat, said the passwords were released on June 21 and deleted on October 24.

A former employee created a spreadsheet that contained the passwords in a hidden tab. The spreadsheet was then posted on the Colorado Secretary of State’s Election System Equipment subpage, Griswold’s office said.

Griswold’s office said the employee left “amicably” before the violation became public. However, Griswold declined to provide specific details about the employee’s departure.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s website sometimes “incorrectly” displayed passwords for voting systems

Jena Griswold (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Griswold’s office found that 34 of Colorado’s 64 counties were affected by the password breach.

Although the breach was discovered on October 24, it was not made public until the Colorado Republican Party revealed it in an email five days later.

Griswold defended her office’s decision not to immediately publicly disclose the breach, claiming she didn’t know whether the passwords were active. She said she first wanted to understand the “scope and scope of the disclosure.”

Arizona County defends reinstatement of 98,000 people with unconfirmed citizenship to the voter rolls

Jena Griswold’s office found that 34 of Colorado’s 64 counties were affected by the password breach.

The Colorado Libertarian Party is suing the state over the violation.

Griswold’s office said all affected active devices underwent a password update with assistance from the Governor’s Office of Information Technology, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Colorado county clerks.

‘ONGOING HARASSMENT’: LAWSUIT FILED BY MISSOURI REPUBLICANS TO BAN THE FED FROM ELECTION LOCALS

Griswold insisted that Colorado’s elections were secure.

“Colorado elections are secure and Coloradans will have their voices heard on Election Day. Join county officials and election officials across the state in treating any potential risks to our elections with the utmost seriousness. “I regret this mistake and am committed to ensuring that we address this matter fully and that mistakes like this never happen again.” — Foreign Minister Jena Griswold

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The secretary’s office said it is working with a law firm on an outside investigation to determine how the breach occurred, how it could be prevented and to make recommendations for improvements.

It added that additional cybersecurity training would also be required for all employees, including password management and security procedures.