The delays and confusion over the Iowa Caucus results has once again brought election security into the national spotlight. Voting has increasingly moved to electronic means following the 2000 elections that put the fate of the election in the "hanging chads" of Florida. Electronic voting machines seek to remove human-error in the actual voting process as well as vote tallying. However, many voting precincts are using technology that is 10-20 years old, introducing problems around maintaining and securing the systems for today's use.
One surprising conclusion around election security is the critical role of a paper trail. Having a paper back-up to electronic voting proved to be important in Iowa and is making counties nationwide re-examine the role of paper in modern elections with the end goal of accuracy being more important than speed.
To modernize voting procedures, systems, and products, Congress has earmarked over $700 million to replace paperless voting machines with more secure digital options that offer a paper trail. While voting is handled at the state and local level, more support from the federal level comes with a new policy that ensures the FBI brief state election officials when local election infrastructure has been compromised. However, many argue this does not go far enough and that the FBI should loop in election officials if they discover breaches of private sector companies involved in providing election technology and support.
Election security extends beyond voting machines to the security of websites of government agencies. A recent survey showed that of the 1,117 counties surveyed, "83 percent of battleground-state counties use websites that lack U.S. government .GOV certification." Also, about half of battleground-state counties fail to use HTTPS encryption. This makes it easier for malicious actors to establish realistic-looking fake sites to distribute false voting and election-related information.
Securing the 2020 election is a complicated issue and there are a number of events that will help shine a light on the many facets of the challenge.
- CyberSmart Series: Denver (March 26, 2020; Denver, CO) -- As many vital government services and data move online, the protection of government information and infrastructure from cyber-attacks is more important than ever before. This event will bring together federal, military, and state and local leaders to discuss the elements that serve as the foundation for a strong cyber culture. Initiatives across Colorado, such as READYColorado and the National Cybersecurity Center will be highlighted. This is the first of eight installments in a nationwide CyberSmart series.
- National Cybersecurity Center Symposium (June 15-16, 2020; Aurora, CO) -- The Cyber Symposium was created by the National Cybersecurity Center to bring together leaders and executives passionate about finding "hope for the future" through cybersecurity innovations focused on workforce development & education, elections, and space.
- Wyoming Cybersecurity Symposium (Oct. 7, 2020; Casper, WY) -- This is a unique opportunity to meet local and national members in Wyoming. The agenda includes topics on information technology, cybersecurity, workforce development, education, election security and much more!
Let us know what other events are addressing topics related to election security in the comments. For more events in the U.S. and worldwide, visit GovEvents.
