Quick Hits

*** In a report dated Oct. 20, the Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security found that efforts to bolster election security were effective, but that plans for the 2020 vote, did not do enough to mitigate risks of physical violence against voters, including terror threats and "targeted violence to the election infrastructure." The report blamed "senior leadership turnover" at DHS and reorganizations at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as hindering progress.

CISA Director Chris Krebs noted in reply comments that the public would be better served by having such a report come out after the close of the election to include the results of the vote and certification. In a separate statement Krebs said that "this investigation was poorly timed and pulled staff away from critical election security tasks and initiatives at a time when we could least afford it"

*** The Government Accountability Office updated its website Oct. 27 to take note of a restricted report titled, "Federal Agencies Need to Take Urgent Action to Manage Supply Chain Risks." The report is restricted because it contains controlled, unclassified information.