Cybersecurity

Iowa’s Lesson: Political Parties Are Not as Good as Government Officials at Counting Votes

Most primaries are run by state and local governments. But caucuses are different—and Iowa shows how that can be a problem.

Cybersecurity

Weakening Encryption Could Impact Election Security, Coalition Says

An election security group said the Justice Department’s renewed calls for access to encrypted data could impact more than privacy.

Cybersecurity

FBI to Alert States About Local Election System Hacks

The FBI changed its policy to allow agents to inform both state and local election officials when election systems are breached.

Ideas

Bots Are Destroying Political Discourse As We Know It

They’re mouthpieces for foreign actors, domestic political groups, even the candidates themselves. And soon you won’t be able to tell they’re bots.

Cybersecurity

New Funding for Election Security Assistance Doesn’t Go Far Enough, Experts Say

Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Congress appropriated $425 million for states to help secure election infrastructure.

Cybersecurity

Kansas Abandons Technology Trumpeted by Kris Kobach, Trump’s Onetime Voter Fraud Czar

The computer program, known as CrossCheck, matched various state voter rolls against each other to identify duplicate voters.

Cybersecurity

Local Election Officials Can Get Free Election Auditing Software from the Feds

The open-source software is already being piloted in at least six states and officials say it can help authenticate results in 2020.

Cybersecurity

Senator Urges Cybersecurity Review of Mobile Voting App

West Virginia and local governments in Colorado, Utah and Oregon have all piloted mobile voting applications developed by Voatz.

Cybersecurity

Election Commission Needs More Authority In Face of 2020 Threats, Report Finds

“The federal government regulates colored pencils . . . more strictly than it does America’s election infrastructure,” the nonpartisan Brennan Center notes.

Cybersecurity

A Plan to Engage Hackers in Election Security

The Information Technology-Information Sharing and Analysis Center wants to create a coordinated vulnerability disclosure program that could alert vendors about security flaws in their voting systems.

Cybersecurity

The Market for Voting Machines Is Broken. This Company Has Thrived in It.

Half the country votes on machines made by ES&S. Many experts and election officials say the manufacturer remains dominant because there’s little government regulation and almost no oversight.

Policy

White House Threatens to Veto House-Passed Election Security Bill

The SHIELD Act would require political campaigns to report offers of campaign assistance from foreign powers to the FBI.

Ideas

Democracy Depends on Digital Security

Here’s where campaigns should focus.

Cybersecurity

Budgetary, Technical Hurdles Continue Hampering 2020 Election Security Prep

A Congressional field hearing in Illinois highlighted how far states and local jurisdictions have come since 2016, and how far they have to go.

Cybersecurity

Inside the NSA's New Cybersecurity Directorate

The National Security Agency has a new state-of-the-art center and a new attitude about sharing its threat information.

Cybersecurity

Senate Intel Committee: Russia Is Already Trying to Influence the 2020 Election

In its report, the Republican-led committee pushes back against Trump’s efforts to point fingers elsewhere.

Cybersecurity

Senate’s Election Security Funding Bill Leaves a Key Agency Strapped for Cash

The Election Assistance Commission has struggled with insufficient staff and resources.

Cybersecurity

6 Cyber Bills You Might Have Missed

The bills aim to strengthen the Homeland Security Department’s cybersecurity efforts and help the energy sector improve its digital defenses.

Cybersecurity

McConnell Voices Support for $250 Million in Election Security Funds

The bill marks “a great step forward,” but states will need more consistent investment to make long-term improvements, according to CISA Director Chris Krebs.