National Guard cybersecurity experts are gearing up to assist during the midterm elections in multiple states in case of potential threats, officials said on Friday, Politico reported.
According to the outlet:
The support ahead, during and after the midterm elections in the 14 states on Tuesday comes after National Guard Cyber Forces provided support to eight states during primary elections earlier this year. Overall, there are 38 cyber units within the National Guard as a whole consisting of over 2,200 personnel that provide support to state and local officials on issues including network assessments and risk mitigation.
In supporting the midterms, National Guard officials will work and receive security updates from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is the key agency tasked with protecting election infrastructure against cyber threats.
The states participating are listed as North Carolina, Arizona, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, Washington, and West Virginia.
A voter prepares their ballot at a voting booth during early voting ahead of the US midterm elections in Los Angeles, California, on November 1, 2022. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, officials with the National Guard who will be supervising the security measures on Tuesday say the service component must invest more in units working against threats, Military.com reported Friday.
“We’re in the early days of cyber. We’re in the biplane era, the early years. Funding, policy, all the infrastructure we need is missing,” said Maj. Gen Richard Neely, who is the adjunct general of the Illinois National Guard.
“Some of our states do an extremely great job, but we’re all on a journey. Much like we need helicopters in every state, we need cyber capabilities in each state. And we need a robust structure to build around,” he added.
However, officials have reportedly not identified any specific cyber threats to the upcoming election.
Maj. Gen. Todd Hunt, adjutant general of the North Carolina National Guard, said his state has 10 cyber personnel but more officials will join them on Election Day.
Hunt explained, “We are citizen soldiers, we live in this state, and we do have a vested interest in our state elections as well as our federal elections.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden (D) this week warned citizens of Republicans taking power in the midterm elections, Breitbart News reported Wednesday:
“We the people must decide whether the rule of law will prevail or whether we will allow the dark forces and … thirst for power put ahead of the principles that have long guided us,” Biden said during a speech delivered inside Union Station.
…
Biden’s speech was sharply partisan, ignoring Democrats who protested the results of the 2016 election falsely declaring Trump an illegitimate president elected because of Russian influence. He also ignored incidents of Democrat political violence and political figures who refused to acknowledge legitimate elections.
Despite his warnings, Breitbart News Washington bureau chief Matt Boyle said during an interview Sunday, “The Republicans are clearly on a pathway to the majority” in the Senate.
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