Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle stressed the need for state election systems to be resilient from cyberattacks this week amid mounting concerns raised by reported hacking attempts.
The warning appeared in the form of a letter sent Wednesday to Todd Valentine, president of the national Association of State Election Directors, courtesy of the four highest-ranking members of Congress: House Speaker Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican; Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican; and Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat.
“Today the states face the challenge of malefactors that are seeking to use cyberattacks to disrupt the administration of our elections” the letter said. “We urge states to take full advantage of the robust public and private sector resources available to them to ensure that their network infrastructure is secure from attack.”
The Department of Homeland Security remains willing to provide help should any state choose to request it, and states mustn’t misinterpret any such assistance as an attempt to subject their election systems to federal control, the lawmakers added — a growing concern as of late amid talks of designating those systems as critical infrastructure and putting the federal government in charge of their protection.
“For 200 years the states have overcome every challenge to ensure the smooth function of our democracy,” their letter said. “We trust that you will take the steps necessary to meet the new challenges of the 21st century by securing your election systems against cyberattacks.”
FBI Director James Comey acknowledged separately during an oversight hearing Wednesday that federal investigators are determining an apparent Russian effort to interfere in the U.S. general election through a series of cyberattacks. Government officials and cybersecurity experts largely blame Russia for hacking the Democratic National Committee earlier this year along with other targets affiliated with the political party, despite denials from President Vladimir Putin and his top officials.
More than 20 percent of registered voters are considering staying home on Election Day as a result of growing fears centered around cybersecurity and vote tampering, according to a study released earlier this week by Carbon Black, a Massachusetts-based security company.
On Thursday, NBC News reported that more than 20 states have been targeted recently by hackers.
“We are absolutely concerned,” said a senior Department of Homeland Security official who spoke about the attempts on condition of anonymity. “The concern is the ability to cause confusion and chaos.”
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