Security News > 2020 > January > Lessons Learned From 2016, but U.S. Faces New Election Threats
THE THREAT. THEN: U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia was the only nation that significantly interfered in the 2016 election.
CYBERSECURITY IN THE STATES. THEN: Before the 2016 election, state election offices were mostly focused on ensuring orderly elections and that voting-related equipment functioned properly.
NOW: States have been scrambling since 2016 to increase their cyberdefenses, upgrade voting systems and train local election officials.
VOTING MACHINES. THEN: Much of the voting equipment in use in 2016 was purchased in the early 2000s amid efforts to update election administration following the "Hanging chad" fiasco of the 2000 presidential election.
In addition to manufacturing voting machines and equipment, the companies - Election Systems & Software, Dominion Voting Systems and Hart InterCivic - also provide election management and vote-tallying systems for many of the nation's 10,000 voting jurisdictions.