Federal Program Offers New Cybersecurity Tool for Elections

State and local officials are receiving additional tools from the federal government to help defend the nation’s election systems from cyber threats ahead of the November vote, as intelligence officials continue to warn about foreign efforts to interfere in the U.S. election.

Under a $2.2 million pilot program that began in March, the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency in partnership with the Center for Internet Security has been deploying software to election offices. It is then placed on devices, including laptops and servers used for voter registration and reporting vote totals, to detect malicious activity. The program was highlighted during a congressional hearing Tuesday.