Minnesota joins nationwide election security 'academy'

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-joins-nationwide-election-security-academy/510930302/

By Stephen Montemayor
Star Tribune
June 6, 2019

Minnesota is joining a six-month election security "policy academy" as part of 
a nationwide effort to safeguard state voting systems in the aftermath of 
Russian hacking attempts during the 2016 presidential election.

The National Governors Association picked Minnesota and five other states to 
work on response plans for attacks on voting systems and to boost communication 
among state agencies charged with protecting election integrity.

"Minnesotans understand that voting is the cornerstone of our democracy, and 
that risking the integrity of our elections is not an option," Gov. Tim Walz 
said Thursday in a statement. "That's why I'm committed to finding security 
solutions for any existing and future threats to our elections."

This week's announcement comes after Secretary of State Steve Simon won access 
to more than $6.6 million in federal election security money that had been 
approved by Congress but was tied up in a bitter partisan squabble at the State 
Capitol. Simon is expected to hire staff to update the statewide voter 
registration system and improve cybersecurity. One proposal includes hiring a 
"cyber navigator" to provide IT services and work with local election officials 
around the state.

[...]



--
Subscribe to InfoSec News
https://www.infosecnews.org/subscribe-to-infosec-news/
https://twitter.com/infosecnews_