GOVERNOR CUOMO INITIATES A.R.M.O.R. “CYBER EXERCISES” TO SECURE STATE ELECTION INTEGRITY

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. May 30, 2018:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the State Board of Elections—in concert with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security—will host a first-of-its-kind series of tabletop exercises focused on protecting the integrity of New York’s electoral systems against cyber-attacks. Partnering with the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, State Police, and State Intelligence Center, the tabletop exercises will identify areas for improvement in cyber incident planning, preparedness, and response through simulation of realistic scenarios attempting to undermine voter confidence, interfere with voting operations, and affect the integrity of elections.

“We have witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences a compromised election has had on our nation and New York will not stand idle and allow our democracy to be infiltrated once again,” Governor Cuomo said. “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.

State and local officials, led by the State Board of Elections and new DHSES Cyber Incident Response Team, will utilize information gleaned from six regional tabletop exercises with state, local, and federal stakeholders to identify risks and develop necessary steps to safeguard the election process against a cyber-attack. Exercise dates and locations are below:

  • May 31: Albany County – Times Union Center
  • June 6: Monroe County – Board of Elections
  • June 7: Onondaga County – Syracuse University, Dineen Hall
  • June 11: Nassau County – Morrelly Homeland Security Center
  • June 12: Orange County – County Department of Emergency Services
  • June 18: Broome County – Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena

The regional tabletop exercises will cover all of New York’s county election jurisdictions. The exercises will be substantively similar, with several scenarios contoured for each region. The scenarios will be based on a combination of real world events and potential risks facing our election infrastructure. This includes possible social media manipulation, disruption of voter registration information systems and processes, voting machines, and the exploitation of board of elections business networks.

These tabletop exercises are part of the Board’s cybersecurity plan that was approved on May 3, 2018, to further strengthen cyber protections for New York’s elections infrastructure through the Board’s Secure Elections Center. The plan, dubbed ARMOR has four elements:

  • Assess the risk to State and County Elections Systems;
  • Remediate the vulnerabilities;
  • Monitor ongoing Operations; and
  • Respond to incidents.

 

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