CISA releases new election security checklists for cyber and physical

TLDR:

Key Points:

• CISA has released checklists for election cyber and physical security
• Recommendations include multi-factor authentication, network separation, and incident response plans

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has recently unveiled two checklists aimed at helping state and local election administrators enhance the security of their election systems. With less than two months before the presidential election, these checklists provide crucial recommendations for defending against cybersecurity and physical security threats.

The cybersecurity checklist includes advice on activating multi-factor authentication, separating election networks from other operations, and monitoring network traffic. Election officials are also encouraged to ensure encrypted backups, use CISA’s cyber hygiene scanning tools, and establish incident response plans with their website service providers.

CISA Senior Advisor Cait Conley highlighted the importance of these checklists in helping election officials bolster the cyber and physical security of election infrastructure amidst an evolving threat landscape. The checklists serve to highlight common threat vectors, security practices, and resilience measures that officials should consider as they prepare for the upcoming election.

In other news, the Justice Department is reportedly considering indictments against Iranian hackers involved in targeting the Trump campaign. This move signifies a commitment to increased transparency regarding foreign influence threats, following criticisms of the handling of Russian interference in the 2016 polls.

Additionally, researchers have discovered that an old WHOIS domain could have issued fraudulent TLS/SSL certificates, highlighting potential security risks in overlooked areas. Furthermore, US utilities are facing escalating cyberattacks, with software vendors and consultant organizations experiencing a significant increase in cyber incidents year-over-year.

Overall, these developments underscore the ongoing challenges in cybersecurity and the critical need for vigilance and proactive measures to safeguard against evolving threats.