New York launches drills to thwart
election hacking
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[May 31, 2018]
By Laila Kearney
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal and New York
state officials say they will hold drills in the weeks leading up to
primary elections for the U.S. House and Senate to prevent hacking and
other cyber threats to voting systems, officials said on Wednesday.
The exercises, which will begin in Albany on Thursday, come amid
heightened scrutiny of the nation's voting systems following Russian
hacking in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
"The people of New York deserve an open, transparent election process
they can trust, and these exercises are an integral part of restoring
voter confidence and the integrity of our election infrastructure,"
Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
Russian hackers probed systems in 21 states during the presidential
race, but only a small number of networks were compromised, the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said last year. There is no
evidence any vote was altered.
New York elections officials have said the state was not among those
with compromised systems.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and New York's State Board of
Elections will host the cyber security meetings in six New York regions
through June 18, about a week ahead of the state's federal primary
elections. Other New York officials, as well as local government workers
and state police, will attend the closed-door meetings.
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The exercises involve simulations of potential voting system
attacks, including so-called ransomware computer infections and
social media manipulation - in which false information aimed at
skewing elections is posted online.
New York will be the first in the nation to hold such meetings,
Cuomo's office said.
The state's cyber security drills are among the early phases a
multi-pronged elections security program approved on May 3.
The broader plan will rely on $5 million in state funds and up to
roughly $19.5 million in federal grants made available in response
to Russian election interference.
Information collected in the exercises will be used to help identify
and respond to vulnerabilities and risks surrounding the state's
voting systems, Cuomo's statement said.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Daniel Bases and Lisa
Shumaker)
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