Security News > 2020 > January > Election Officials Get Training Before 2020 Voting Begins
When state election officials gathered ahead of the last presidential election, major topics were voter registration, identity theft and ballot design.
Election officials from 44 states joined officials with 11 federal agencies and representatives from more than a dozen voting technology companies to participate in the half-day exercise to help them keep votes secure.
The vast majority of panels at the biannual meetings of the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors are dedicated to cybersecurity, from what states can do to disrupt hacking attempts to the threat of ransomware.
States have been scrambling to shore up cybersecurity practices at the state and local level, train election officials and upgrade old and vulnerable voting equipment ahead of this year's presidential election.
After facing tough criticism for a lack of communication and coordination, the Department of Homeland Security has been focused on enhancing cyber defenses of the nation's election systems, installing channels with state and local election officials to share threat information, providing cybersecurity resources such as security reviews and holding trainings like the one on Thursday.