Cybersecurity

Combating Foreign Malign Influence Requires Enhanced Information Sharing

Experts advised the intelligence community to have “more holistic conversations” with the public about the threat landscape.

Cybersecurity

How Simple Claims of Election Interference Can be Enough to Prompt Real-World Threats

Federal officials remain on guard against foreign meddling in U.S. elections, as CISA and other agencies work to strengthen partnerships and intelligence sharing efforts with state and local election administrators.

Cybersecurity

Election Officials Have Been Largely Successful in Deterring Cyber Threats, CISA Official Says

The head of CISA’s National Risk Management Center pointed to public-private partnerships and enhanced resource sharing activities as key to defending against outside threats to voting systems.

Cybersecurity

CISA Hosts Election Security Exercise Ahead of 2022 Midterm Elections

State and local officials, along with representatives from federal agencies and election industry companies, participated in the “Tabletop the Vote” exercise to prepare for a range of hypothetical risks to election operations.

Policy

FEC Approves Google’s Plan to Exempt Campaign Emails From Spam Filters

The pilot program stems in part from a March study that found Google filters were far more likely to mark right-wing campaign emails as spam than left-wing ones.

Cybersecurity

CISA Releases Cybersecurity Toolkit to Help Protect Upcoming Midterm Elections

The guide for state and local election officials offers free tools to help mitigate digital threats and safeguard voting systems from outside intrusion.

Policy

FEC to Vote on Google’s Plan to Keep Campaign Emails Out of Spam

Google’s proposal to allow emails from authorized candidates and committees to be exempt from the company’s spam filters has received pushback from Democrats, Republicans and the general public.

Cybersecurity

Misinformation Campaigns and Threats are Undermining Confidence in U.S. Elections, Official Says

CISA is ramping up efforts to defend voting systems from outside intrusion, but the spread of online misinformation and threats against election officials still damage faith in the electoral process.

Cybersecurity

Election Officials Want to Tell the Public 'Where the Good Guys Won' in Cyber Efforts

As misinformation around the 2020 elections continues to swirl, state election officials say that DHS and CISA should do more to raise up ‘successes’ around efforts to mitigate vulnerabilities in voting systems.

Cybersecurity

Iranian Nationals Charged with Election Interference

The Justice Department identified two hackers as conspirators in cyberattacks aimed at spreading voter intimidation and election disinformation. 

Emerging Tech

Information Disorder Is Biggest Social Danger, Commission Warns

The Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder made multiple structural recommendations for the information ecosystem.

Digital Government

Elections Officials Are Still Receiving Death Threats and Harassment About the 2020 Election. They’re Asking Congress For Help.

Three state and local election officials testified before a Senate committee about their terrifying experiences since last year’s election in support of proposed voting reform legislation.

Cybersecurity

CISA Selects Washington Official for Election Security Team

Kim Wyman, former Secretary of State for Washington, brings a history of implementing cybersecurity practices into election procedures and enjoys support among former agency heads. 

Cybersecurity

Facing Foreign Election Foes, States Hire ‘Cyber Navigators’

Local election officials are on the front lines of election defense, but they often are underfunded or lack the technical knowhow to protect systems from cyber threats.

Policy

Senate Committee Clashes over Sweeping Election Reform Bill

Lawmakers failed to advance the For the People Act out of committee, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to bring the bill to the floor anyhow.

Cybersecurity

Despite Security Concerns, Online Voting Advances

Online voting is likely to become more popular as technology improves and as election officials seek ways to expand access to the ballot. But security experts warn of hacking threats.

Cybersecurity

NSA Cyber Directorate Touts Election, Pandemic Security Work in 2020 Review

Anne Neuberger, NSA’s director of cybersecurity, said the agency “surged rapidly” to secure telework and protect networks used in vaccine development.

Cybersecurity

Why Data Privacy Is Crucial to Fighting Disinformation

Information collected as we go about our daily lives can be weaponized into influence operations that are harder to detect.

Cybersecurity

Krebs Unloads About Trump’s Election-Fraud Claims

In the fallout from being fired, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is concerned about how his experience will affect the recruitment of future leaders.