The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced via a press release on Monday that it has coordinated efforts to help combat possible cybersecurity threats as state and local elections are carried out in more than 30 states nationwide this week.
The increased oversight on election awareness comes as races are taking place in prime states such as Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and Ohio on Tuesday alone. Republicans are keeping close tabs on these blue states potentially flipping as these could very well indicate a GOP stronghold in 2022.
The “election situational awareness room” includes local, state, and federal election officials, as well as private-sector and political organizations to “share real-time information and provide support as needed.”
CISA Election Security Initiative Director Geoff Hale stated that “CISA has supported state and local election officials to help secure their systems and push back against malicious actors seeking to disrupt our democratic process and interfere in our elections.”
“We look forward to continuing this work in collaboration with our election partners to ensure the security and resilience of elections in 2021 and beyond,” Hale added.
Among some of CISA’s more interesting work is found throughout what they dub as their “Election Security Rumor vs. Reality” section on their website.
Although the Biden Administration recently appointed a staunch and controversial Trump critic to lead the agency, Washington Sec. of State Kim Wyman, CISA claims they are focused on “building resilience” by rebuilding trust among the American public regarding electoral integrity.
The public will just have to wait and see if the federal government’s attempts to strengthen infrastructure security hold up as these races wrap up in the coming hours.