Cybersecurity
Election Hacking Threats Prompt U.S. to Hasten Aid to States
- ‘We’re certainly on high alert,’ an election official says
- ‘Clunky’ system with 9,000 jurisdictions hard to hack: FBI
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A spate of hacking attacks has put U.S. states on edge ahead of November’s presidential vote as election officials rush to plug cybersecurity gaps with help from the federal government.
Nine states have asked for "cyber hygiene" scans in which the Department of Homeland Security looks for vulnerabilities in election authorities’ networks that are connected to the internet, according to a DHS official who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. With 53 days before the election, DHS wants more states to sign up.