Cybersecurity For Elections

Information and communication technologies are increasingly prevalent in electoral management and democratic processes, even for countries without any form of electronic voting. These technologies offer numerous new opportunities, but also new threats. Cybersecurity is currently one of the greatest electoral challenges. It involves a broad range of actors, including electoral management bodies, cybersecurity expert bodies and security agencies. Many countries have found that interagency collaboration is essential for defending elections against digital threats. In recent years significant advances have been made in organizing such collaboration at the domestic and international levels. This guide tracks how countries are making progress on improving cybersecurity in elections. Based on an extensive collection of 20 case studies from all over the world, it provides lessons for those wanting to strengthen their defences against cyberattacks.

The use of computers and other technology introduces a range of risks to electoral integrity. Cybersecurity for Elections explains how cybersecurity issues can compromise traditional aspects of elections, explores how cybersecurity interacts with the broader electoral environment, and offers principles for managing cybersecurity risks.

During the 2016 presidential election, America's election infrastructure was targeted by actors sponsored by the Russian government. Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy examines the challenges arising out of the 2016 federal election, assesses current technology and standards for voting, and recommends steps that the federal government, state and local governments, election administrators, and vendors of voting technology should take to improve the security of election infrastructure. In doing so, the report provides a vision of voting that is more secure, accessible, reliable, and verifiable.

U.S. election systems are diverse in terms of governance and technology. This reflects the constitutional roles reserved for the states in administering and running elections but makes it challenging to develop a national picture of cybersecurity risk in election systems. Moreover, it requires each state and jurisdiction to evaluate and prioritize risk in the systems it oversees. With funding from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, researchers from the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center have developed a methodology for understanding and prioritizing cybersecurity risk in election infrastructure to assist state and local election officials.

As the American election administration landscape changes as a result of major court cases, national and state legislation, changes in professionalism, and the evolution of equipment and security, so must the work of on-the-ground practitioners change. This Open Access title presents a series of case studies designed to highlight practical responses to these changes from the national, state, and local levels. This book is designed to be a companion piece to The Future of Election Administration, which surveys these critical dimensions of elections from the perspectives of the most forward-thinking practitioner, policy, advocacy, and research experts and leaders in these areas today. Drawing upon principles of professionalism and the practical work that is required to administer elections as part of the complex systems, this book lifts up the voices and experiences of practitioners from around the country to describe, analyze, and anticipate the key areas of election administration systems on which students, researchers, advocates, policy makers, and practitioners should focus. Together, these books add to the emerging body of literature that is part of the election sciences community with an emphasis on the practical aspects of administration.

The United States election process has been at risk since the widespread adoption of electronic voting systems in 2002-2006. Even though researchers have spent the past decade demonstrating that Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) and optical scanning systems from every manufacturer are vulnerable along numerous attack vectors, our Nation is still plagued with a lack of transparency on the part of electronic voting system manufacturers and poorly trained election officials and staff. Despite the recurring discussion on electronic voting vulnerabilities that occurs every four years, only limited attention is given to the systemic problem undermining American democracy. It is time for a complete overhaul in the electoral process' cyber, technical and physical security. In this publication, entitled "Hacking Elections is Easy! Preserving Democracy in the Digital Age," the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, America's leading cybersecurity Think Tank, provides a comprehensive two-part analysis of this threat to our democracy: Part 1: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures - The shocking ease of hacking virtually any voting machine's "black box" technology - The cyber, technical and physical attack methods that could be enlisted by Nation States, Hacktivists, and black hat hackers - Social Engineering attack vectors Part 2: PSST! Wanna Buy a National Voter Database? Hacking E-Voting Systems Was Just the Beginning - The risk of local and state-level election official and staff exploitation - Documented incidents of data breaches and attacks involving electronic voting systems - E-voting testing requirements by region - Vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems currently / previously in use in the united states (organized by manufacturer)

For many of us, the presidential election of 2000 was a wake-up call. The controversy following the vote count led to demands for election reform. But the new voting systems that were subsequently introduced to the market have serious security flaws, and many are confusing and difficult to use. Moreover, legislation has not kept up with the constantly evolving voting technology, leaving little to no legal recourse when votes are improperly counted. How did we come to acquire the complex technology we now depend on to count votes? Douglas Jones and Barbara Simons probe this question, along with public policy and regulatory issues raised by our voting technologies. Broken Ballots is a thorough and incisive analysis of the current voting climate that approaches American elections from technological, legal, and historical perspectives. The authors examine the ways in which Americans vote today, gauging how inaccurate, unreliable, and insecure our voting systems are. An important book for election administrators, political scientists, and students of government and technology policy, Broken Ballots is also a vital tool for any voting American.

The United States election process has been at risk since the widespread adoption of electronic voting systems in 2002-2006. Even though researchers have spent the past decade demonstrating that Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) and optical scanning systems from every manufacturer are vulnerable along numerous attack vectors, our Nation is still plagued with a lack of transparency on the part of electronic voting system manufacturers and poorly trained election officials and staff. Despite the recurring discussion on electronic voting vulnerabilities that occurs every four years, only limited attention is given to the systemic problem undermining American democracy. It is time for a complete overhaul in the electoral process' cyber, technical and physical security.In this publication, entitled "Hacking Elections is Easy! Preserving Democracy in the Digital Age," ArtOfTheHak, America's leading cybersecurity Think Tank, provides a comprehensive two-part analysis of this threat to our democracy: Part 1: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures- The shocking ease of hacking virtually any voting machine's "black box" technology- The cyber, technical and physical attack methods that could be enlisted by Nation States, Hacktivists, and black hat hackers- Social Engineering attack vectors Part 2: PSST! Wanna Buy a National Voter Database? Hacking E-Voting Systems Was Just the Beginning- The risk of local and state-level election official and staff exploitation- Documented incidents of data breaches and attacks involving electronic voting systems- E-voting testing requirements by region- Vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems currently / previously in use in the united states (organized by manufacturer)