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A new report gives Democratic presidential campaigns high grades for their cybersecurity.
Presidential wannabes doing well on cybersecurity, experts say
The good news from a new report by a cybersecurity firm on the online presence of the Democratic presidential candidates is that they all deserve good grades for their defenses against cyber attacks.
The less good news is that the review, released Thursday by a New York company that conducts information security assessments, rivals any doctor's report you've ever read for arcane and obscure lingo. And that's all the more remarkable given how one of the most bluntly dramatic aspects of the election security narrative four years ago were the cyberattacks on the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Overall, Security Scorecard found the 14 candidates whose websites and applications were studied (several no longer in the race) all deserved a B or better. Or as the report puts it with masterful bureaucratic understatement, their "cybersecurity posture is positive."
Fight over money vs. ballot access imperils Minnesota’s record for top turnout
Election security and voting rights are on a collision course in the state with the nation's best voter turnout.
The Minnesota Legislature opened its session a week ago with another sharp disagreement over the millions available from Washington to modernize voting systems and election administration to strengthen defenses against election hacking and the spread of disinformation.
The Democrats who run the House want to allocate the latest $4.7 million installment as soon as possible and with no strings attached. The Republicans who run the Senate say they won't accept the money unless it's paired with a new and strict system of provisional balloting.
The 2021 budget proposal by President Trump calls for a slight increase in the operating budget for the Election Assistance Commission, according to details of the budget plan.
Upon further review, election agency budget proposal a wash
The news about the Election Assistance Commission in President Trump's new budget isn't so bad after all.
On first blush, it appeared the EAC was not going to get any help in trying to rebuild itself from a series of budget cutbacks and staff turnover. After all, the bottom line in the budget proposal released last week was a proposed cut of $2.1 million, or 14 percent, from this year's $15.2 million in spending.
But, the agency points out, if you look at the fine print, the operating budget being proposed is actually slightly higher than the current year's operating budget.
The supervisor of elections in Palm Beach County caused a stir this week when she said the agency's computer system had been hacked during the 2016 election. But Susan Bucher (above), who headed the office then, said that was not true.
Florida fury after fresh claim of a 2016 cyberattack
Just a few weeks before the Florida presidential primary, the elections supervisor for the state's third biggest county has dropped an election security bombshell.
Wendy Sartory Link says she was told the Palm Beach County elections systems were hacked during the 2016 presidential election but the attack was never reported to state or federal authorities.
The claim immediately became embroiled in controversy, however, because the person in charge of the office at the time, Susan Bucher, denied the attack occurred and the agency's former head of information technology won't comment because he is facing unrelated criminal charges.
The contradictory stories have left other political leaders in the state perplexed.
