Federal and New York state officials say they will hold drills in the weeks leading up to primary elections for the U.S. House and Senate to prevent hacking and other cyber threats to voting systems, officials said on Wednesday. The exercises, which will begin in Albany on Thursday, come amid heightened scrutiny of the nation’s voting systems following Russian hacking in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. “The people of New York deserve an open, transparent election process they can trust, and these exercises are an integral part of restoring voter confidence and the integrity of our election infrastructure,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
Russian hackers probed systems in 21 states during the presidential race, but only a small number of networks were compromised, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said last year. There is no evidence any vote was altered.
New York elections officials have said the state was not among those with compromised systems.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and New York’s State Board of Elections will host the cyber security meetings in six New York regions through June 18, about a week ahead of the state’s federal primary elections. Other New York officials, as well as local government workers and state police, will attend the closed-door meetings.
Full Article: New York launches drills to thwart election hacking | Reuters.