In 2016, Russia attacked the United States. Not with bombs or guns, but with a sophisticated well-funded cyberattack and information warfare directed by President Vladimir Putin designed to undermine the values we hold most dear. Russian entities launched cyberattacks against at least 21 states and attacked U.S. voting system software companies. Every top U.S. intelligence official has warned us, including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who recently described our digital election infrastructure as “literally under attack,” and sounded the alarm that “the warning lights are blinking red again.” Far from being chastened by these reports, our foreign adversaries have only become emboldened. Microsoft has already detected phishing attacks targeting at least three midterm campaigns this year.
We have less than 80 days until the 2018 midterm elections. Primary elections are well under way already. The time to act to secure our election infrastructure is now.
The men and women tasked with defending us from future cyberattacks on our elections are the thousands of state and local officials around the country who administer America’s elections. These efforts are state-led and should continue to be run by state and local election boards. Congress, however, cannot expect states to effectively defend our election infrastructure from sophisticated foreign adversaries without ensuring they have the tools to do so.
Full Article: Time is running out to secure our elections | TheHill.