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Elections Security Update: Cybercriminals Never Stop —
We Won’t Either
Russian hackers under indictment are dedicated to undermining America’s confidence in U.S. elections systems. So, I want to provide an update about what is being done in Oregon to ensure that the November 2018 election is secure. In short, I am confirming that Oregon has one of the most secure election processes in the country.
 Security and intelligence community experts continue to cite cyberthreat activities as the gravest threat to elections security now and moving into the future. As threat actors have employed advanced cyber capabilities to undermine critical infrastructure and attack the public sector, it is essential for Oregon to continue to invest in cyber defenses.
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The Secretary of State’s elections security team continues to work diligently to protect Oregon’s voting infrastructure. A major step in that direction is the hiring of additional security professionals. Legislative leaders are supporting these efforts by approving the hiring of three new cybersecurity experts and extending the security perimeter to encompass the county systems, which are a critical component of the voting ecosystem. This significantly enhances Oregon’s security preparedness, providing alerts to vulnerabilities, threats, attacks, and configuration or security policy violations far sooner than was possible before.
Last week, I
notified the Department of Homeland Security that the State of
Oregon will be the first of any state to deploy a cyber defense strategy of
this sophistication and breadth, and we are committed to have it in place by
the November 2018 election. Using the federal Help America Vote Act grant
monies recently authorized by the Oregon legislature, work continues to secure
the diverse set of assets, systems, and networks critical to the administration
of the elections process.
As we
continue to increase election security protections, please know that we are
also being careful stewards of your tax dollars. For example, in a recent letter to the Co-Chairs of Senate-House Joint Committee
on Ways and Means, we identified a way to achieve better security
outcomes at a lower cost than what was presented in our May proposal to the
legislature. This will free up more of the federal elections security funds for
security protections even beyond what the legislature originally requested. I
am very proud that our IT security team exemplifies the values of
accountability and efficiency that you deserve. The Co-Chairs are trusting our team
to take the necessary steps to ensure the security and integrity of our
elections. We won’t let them down.
Even as we
work hard to prepare for the election in November, we have also launched
security initiatives that will be implemented in 2019 and 2020. Since
cybercriminals never stop, neither do we.
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