Civic Register
| 5.21.18
95% of Cybersecurity Experts Say State Election Systems are Vulnerable – Do You Feel Safe Voting?
Join us and tell your reps how you feel!
What’s the story?
- As part of their feature The Network, the Washington Post assembled a panel of more than 100 cybersecurity leaders from across government, the private sector, academia, and the research community, and asked: “The midterm elections are approaching. Are state election systems sufficiently protected against cyberthreats?”
- 95 percent of digital security experts surveyed said “state election systems are not sufficiently protected against cyberthreats.”
What did the experts say?
- Chris Painter, who served as the State Department’s top cyber diplomat during the Obama and Trump administrations, told the Post:
“Given the gravity of the nation-state threats we face, much more needs to be done at every level—including a strong declarative policy that this activity is unacceptable and will trigger a strong response.”
- Dave Aitel, chief executive of Immunity Inc. and a former National Security Agency security scientist, added:
“Protecting systems from cyberthreats from nation-states can really only be done on a national level. It's insane we have state-level control of these systems.”
What can be done?
- “We are going to need more money and more guidance on how to effectively defend against the sophisticated adversaries we are facing to get our risk down to acceptable levels,” one of the experts, Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), who co-chairs the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, told the Post.
- In September, Langevin and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) introduced the Protecting the American Process for Election Results (PAPER) Act, a bill meant to “provide assistance to states to strengthen the cybersecurity of their elections.”
- The PAPER Act would be in addition to the $380 million Congress approved in March for all 50 states, and five territories, to secure their election systems.
Do you feel safe voting?
Is the U.S. doing enough to protect the integrity of our election systems? Do you think there is more the federal government could do to support their efforts? Do you feel confident in your state’s election systems heading into the 2018 midterms? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.
—Josh Herman
Related Reading
- Voting Systems Still Vulnerable 6 Months Before Election Day - Check YOUR State's Security
- Primary Season Begins — Are You Ready?
- States Make Moves To Protect Election Security Before Midterms
- Voting Security & Russian Interference
(Photo Credit: AndyEmel / iStock)
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