Security News > 2020 > January > FBI Plans to Inform States of Election Breaches

The FBI has changed its policy around election cybersecurity and said it will now notify state officials in the event that local election systems are hacked.

Previously, the FBI would inform these parties but didn't necessarily share the information with state election officials, a move that came under fire from state lawmakers and Congress for not going far enough to protect the integrity of elections from cyberattacks.

Each state has a designated chief state election official that has ultimate authority over elections held in the state; these duties often include certifying election results, according to the FBI. However, most election infrastructure is owned and operated by local governments, which have their own local officials overseeing the elections at the county and local-precinct level.

"Thus, the FBI's new policy mandates the notification of a chief state election official and local election officials of cyber threats to local election infrastructure."

"This is great and all, except the FBI should have been informing states about breaches of local election systems all along," Tweeted Jennifer Cohn, an election security advocate, writer and attorney.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/fbi-plans-to-inform-states-of-election-breaches/151971/