National Guard cyber teams activated for upcoming elections

National Guards across 14 states including Washington, Hawaii, Arizona, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Delaware, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia had their cybersecurity units activated ahead of the midterm elections next week, StateScoop reports. Despite the increased visibility of the National Guard in safeguarding election systems, engaging in election cybersecurity is still a relatively new function of the Guard. "Cyber's that new domain. It's a man-made domain. Our goal is to make sure we have as secure elections as possible. We are at the really beginning stages of this," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Rich Neely, head of the Illinois National Guard. Meanwhile, Army Maj. Gen. M. Todd Hunt, the adjutant general of the North Carolina National Guard, noted that operations of his cyber unit have been underway before the elections, with vulnerability assessments and penetration tests conducted for local and county agencies. "We're not expecting to see anything. But much like we did after Jan. 6, if the Guard's called in, the Guard responds as needed. We're not expecting anything with what we're seeing," said Neely.