Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Tuesday touted the department’s effort to engage with state and local officials on guarding U.S. voting infrastructure from cyber threats, stressing that public trust in vote counts “relies on secure election infrastructure.” Nielsen issued the statement highlighting the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) recent meetings with state and local election officials, which included classified briefings from U.S. intelligence officials on cyber threats to U.S. voting infrastructure. “The American public’s confidence that their vote counts — and is counted correctly — relies on secure election infrastructure,” Nielsen said Tuesday.
“The first primaries of the 2018 midterm election cycle are just around the corner, and DHS and our federal, state and local partners have been working together for more than a year to bolster the cybersecurity of the nation’s election infrastructure.”
The meetings are part of Homeland Security’s new effort to engage with stakeholders on the security of U.S. voting infrastructure.
The department under the Obama administration designated voting data systems and other election infrastructure as “critical” following Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, offering up federal assistance to states that request it.
Full Article: Homeland Security chief touts effort on election cybersecurity | TheHill.