A new internal policy at the FBI will ensure “timely federal notification” to state and local election officials when a cyber intrusion affect the election infrastructure, the bureau said.
“Understanding that mitigation of such incidents often hinges on timely notification, the FBI has established a new internal policy outlining how the FBI will notify state and local officials responsible for administering election infrastructure of cyber activity targeting their infrastructure,” the FBI said in a release, noting that “each state has a designated person to serve as its chief state election official with ultimate authority over elections held” the state holds, often including the certification of election results. “All of this is welcome news, but it is not enough. I will continue to push for federal officials to provide more information to the voting public when foreign powers interfere with our democracy,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., said in a statement. “Our citizens will then be in a position to check their voter registration data to confirm it wasn’t tampered with and to hold accountable state and local officials who fail to protect election infrastructure.”
