News & Articles — Don't Hack the Vote

News and Articles on Election Security

Voting matters — so does the person running a state's election by Stephanie Schriock, opinion contributor in The Hill

In 2018, all of us should be paying close attention to the people running our elections. Read the whole article here

42 states haven’t upgraded their election equipment in over a decade and Russia knows it by Judy Woodruff in PBS News Hour

Primary voting in the 2018 elections is set to begin in just two months. Is the U.S. voting system secure in case Russia tries to interfere? Read the whole article here

DHS: We Can Vet Election Cyber Systems in All 50 States by Joseph Marks in NextGov

Some states remain wary of asking for federal election security help, but the ice is thawing, a Homeland Security official said. Read the whole article here

Homeland Security speeds up election security aid to states by Morgan Chalfant in The Hill

A top cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that he expects the department to complete rigorous election security tests requested by a number of states by April. Read the whole article here

Intelligence Committee prepares election security plan to thwart Russian hacking by Erin Kelly in USA Today

Russia is accusing the United States of direct interference in its upcoming presidential elections. Read the whole article here

Elections are a Cybersecurity Problem by Paul Rosenzweig in Lawfare

A perspective on why saying “election interference is not a cybersecurity issue” is inaccurate. Read the whole article here

Solid policy steps still seen as incomplete without a cybersecurity vision to drive strategy by Charlie Mitchell in Inside CyberSecurity

Ongoing policy responses to the national cybersecurity challenge -- including actions this week by the federal government -- may merit a grade of “incomplete,” some observers suggest, saying they address the appropriate discrete issues but not in the holistic manner that's sorely needed. Read the whole article here

Bipartisan Senate bill would help states beef up election cybersecurity by Jenni Bergal in GCN & Stateline

Six U.S. senators have filed a bipartisan bill that would provide grants to states to help them move from paperless voting machines to paper ballots in an effort to make voting systems less vulnerable to hackers. Read the whole article here

A bipartisan, GOP-led voting machine security bill that would actually fix vulnerabilities in US elections by Cory Doctorow in Boing Boing

The Secure Elections Act is a bipartisan Senate bill with six co-sponsors that reads like a security researcher's wish-list for voting machine reforms. Specifically, it reads like Matt Blaze's wishlist, hewing ... Read the whole article here

National: Election Assistance Commission announces meeting next week on securing mid-terms by Charlie Mitchell in Inside CyberSecurity

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has announced that it will be holding a public meeting on Jan. 10 to review steps for securing the nation’s election system in advance of mid-term voting this fall. Read the whole article here

New bill could finally get rid of paperless voting machines by Timothy B. Lee in Ars Technica

A bipartisan group of six senators has introduced legislation that would take a huge step toward securing elections in the United States. Called the Secure Elections Act, the bill aims to eliminate insecure paperless voting machines from American elections while promoting routine audits that would dramatically reduce the danger of interference from foreign governments. Read the whole article here

The latest 2018 election-hacking threat: 9-month wait for government help by Tim Starks in Politico

States rushing to guard their 2018 elections against hackers may be on a waiting list for up to nine months for the Department of Homeland Security’s most exhaustive security screening, according to government officials familiar with the situation. Read the whole article here

Congressional members demand election hack briefing by FBI and DHS by Doug Olenick in SC Magazine

Members of the House of Representatives have requested more information regarding the security of America's electoral system. Read the whole article here

Alabama Supreme Court Okays Destruction of Digital Voting Records by Kate Conger in Gizmodo

A recent court decision permitting Alabama officials to destroy digital copies of paper ballots eliminates an important tool for ensuring electoral integrity, said two experts interviewed on the day of Alabama's special U.S. Senate election. Read the whole article here

Here's everything that's wrong with America's insecure electronic voting machines, and what to do about it by Bruce Schneier in Boing Boing

Defcon's Vote Hacking Village where security experts with no particular knowledge of voting machines repeatedly, fatally hacked surplus voting machines of the sort routinely used in US elections. Read the whole article here

Alabama Supreme Court blocks order to preserve digital voting records by Taylor Hatmaker in TechCrunch

Following an eleventh-hour order instructing voting officials in Alabama to keep the digital ballots generated in Tuesday’s controversial Senate election, the state’s Supreme Court has issued a stay to block that decision. Read the whole article here

White House's planned voter database could be hacking target, experts warn by Maegan Vazquez in CNNPolitics

Nine national security and cybersecurity experts filed an amicus brief Tuesday afternoon in support of a lawsuit against the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. The experts warn that the commission's plan to centralize voter data with a national database could become a target of foreign cyber attacks. Read the whole article here

The Computer Scientist Who Prefers Paper by Jill Leovy in The Atlantic

Barbara Simons believes there is only one safe voting technology. Read the whole article here

Vote-Hacking Fears Help State Officials Get Security Clearances by Nafeesa Syeed in Bloomberg

Three months before some U.S. states host primary elections, the Department of Homeland Security has begun offering security clearances to state officials to more easily share classified information as the threat of cyberattacks looms over next year's polls. Read the whole article here

Across the Country, Election Officials Search for Ways to Keep Up With Security Threats by Matthew Hamilton in GovTech

The advent of new voting technology has brought election- security threats that state officials are seeking to shore up with additional resources. At an Assembly hearing in Manahttan Tuesday, state Board of Elections officials said they would be seeking $27 million for the upcoming fiscal ... Read the whole article here

The time to hack-proof the 2018 election is expiring — and Congress is way behind by Martin Matishak in Politico

Lawmakers are scrambling to push something — anything — through Congress that would help secure the nation’s voting systems ahead of the 2018 elections. Read the whole article here

House Democrats Put $400 Million Price Tag on Election Security by Joseph Marks in NextGov

State and local governments need money, not words, to shore up security, a panel of House Democrats said. A panel of House Democrats wants to commit $400 million to secure future elections from hackers. Read the whole article here

Hacking the vote: Threats keep changing, but election IT sadly stays the same by Sean Gallagher Gallagher in Ars Technica

Election security hasn't changed much in over a decade, but the threat model has. Read the whole article here

Feds have eye on cybersecurity issues as voters go to polls by Tal Kopan on CNN

As voters head to the polls on Tuesday, state and local officials are working with the federal government to monitor any potential cybersecurity concerns. Read the whole article here

Is low-tech the answer to election security? by Chase Gunter in FCW

Some experts say that given uneven IT security requirements for voting systems, the best protection against election hacking may be less technology. "Based on my experience, I don't have a lot of confidence" in the security of election equipment, said Alex Halderman, director of the University of Michigan's ... Read the whole article here

100 experts tell Congress how to improve election security by Selena Larson in CNNTech

The experts -- which come from various industries, from business and academia to technology non-profits -- signed a letter addressed to Congress on Wednesday suggesting how three major objectives need to take place to protect the integrity of the system and restore voter confidence. Read the whole article here

SAVE Act attempts to bolster election security by Michael Heller in SearchSecurity

Two senators introduced a bipartisan election security bill called the SAVE Act, which aims to improve voting infrastructure and harden state systems against attack. Read the whole article here

Securing the 2020 Election Process (Part 1) by Prof. Dave Dittrich on Medium

An incredibly comprehensive piece on the current state of election security. It covers recent events, what organizations have been trying to help, and ideas for how to improve things. A great place to get a full view of the issues involved. Read the Article here.

Securing the 2020 Election Process (Part 2) by Prof Dave Dittrich

The 2nd part of Prof Dittrich's Medium article. Covers specific recommendations about how to keep our election systems secure. Read the article here

America needs to get serious about securing its elections.

By RICHARD A. CLARKE and ROBERT K. KNAKE Politico July 13, 2017

Opinion piece by former Cyber Security experts in the Bush and Obama administrations.