Increased Cybersecurity for Illinois Midterm Elections

Increased Cybersecurity for Illinois Midterm Elections

The Illinois National Guard is bringing in hundreds of cybersecurity experts to help ensure the integrity of the midterm elections and prevent the compromise of election results.

  • By Jessica Davis
  • Oct 18, 2018

Illinois is taking steps to increase election security as the midterms approach. State Board of Elections Chairman William Cadigan said voters should feel sure that their Nov. 6 votes “will be securely counted.”

Illinois election officials have said no voter registration records were taken and no election results were compromised in the Russian hack that took place in July 2016.  As a result of the hack, however, the State Board of Elections is working to increase cybersecurity to prevent a hacking incident from happening again.

Election officials are working with national agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and for the first time in Illinois election history, the National Guard. The Illinois National Guard is bringing in hundreds of cybersecurity experts to help ensure the integrity of the midterm elections and prevent the compromise of election results.

In addition to partnering with outside agencies, Illinois election officials said they have installed greater firewall protections for voter records and election results. Clerks and election judges have also received “detailed cyber training.”

The Department of Homeland Security has allocated about $13 million for Illinois voting security programs to prevent the system from being hacked again.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Maximizing Your Security Budget This Year

    Perimeter Security Standards for Multi-Site Businesses

    When you run or own a business that has multiple locations, it is important to set clear perimeter security standards. By doing this, it allows you to assess and mitigate any potential threats or risks at each site or location efficiently and effectively. Read Now

  • New Research Shows a Continuing Increase in Ransomware Victims

    GuidePoint Security recently announced the release of GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team’s (GRIT) Q1 2024 Ransomware Report. In addition to revealing a nearly 20% year-over-year increase in the number of ransomware victims, the GRIT Q1 2024 Ransomware Report observes major shifts in the behavioral patterns of ransomware groups following law enforcement activity – including the continued targeting of previously “off-limits” organizations and industries, such as emergency hospitals. Read Now

  • OpenAI's GPT-4 Is Capable of Autonomously Exploiting Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

    According to a new study from four computer scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, OpenAI’s paid chatbot, GPT-4, is capable of autonomously exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities without any human assistance. Read Now

  • Getting in Someone’s Face

    There was a time, not so long ago, when the tradeshow industry must have thought COVID-19 might wipe out face-to-face meetings. It sure seemed that way about three years ago. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
Most   Popular

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities 3

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles. 3

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge. 3