The Director of CISA says elections in America have never been more secure.
CISA stands for Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and it’s an agency within the Department of Homeland Security that works to strengthen the nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure. It was established November 16, 2018 after President Trump signed the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Act of 2018 into law.
Director Jen Easterly spoke to reporters on a call ahead of this year’s Presidential election, as states are already operating early voting precincts and accepting mail-in and absentee ballots. She says citizens can trust the election process, no matter who they cast their ballots for.
"The machines that Americans use to vote are not connected to the internet. Over 97 percent of registered voters will cast their ballots in jurisdictions where they will get a paper record that they themselves can verify. Election officials have put in place multiple layers of safeguards, cybersecurity, physical security - to protect election infrastructure from compromise. And this includes pre-election testing of equipment, and post-election auditing to ensure accuracy."
Easterly also says while each state runs their own elections a little differently, it means malicious actors have a harder time making material impacts on elections without being detected.
But Easterly says despite the multiple layers of safeguards, challenges persist. She says “a firehose of disinformation” perpetrated by foreign adversaries, and often repeated by sitting officials, candidates or media pundits creates divisions in the country, and distrust in its secure election process. And she says it can culminate in physical threats against election workers.
"I think it is irresponsible for anybody in position of power or authority or influence to be spreading inaccurate information that essentially serves the interests of our foreign adversaries. It's corrosive to our democracy, and it's causing very real physical threats to election officials who are on the front lines of defending our democracy."
Easterly says anyone with a voice that can influence Americans and how they feel about the election has a responsibility to put out accurate information. She says citizens can go to www.vote.gov or speak to their own local election officials to ask how their votes are protected.
"Elections, of course - are political. Election security is not. This is not a partisan issue, this is an issue about our national security. So it is very important that voters get accurate information."