How State and Local Governments Kept the 2020 Election Secure

November 11, 2020

StateTech

State and local government officials have spent the past four years building up their cybersecurity defenses. On Nov. 3, those efforts paid off.

They worked to build cooperation and communication with each other and with the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. They trained election officials and poll workers on anti-phishing techniques, bolstered network defenses and authentication measures, and shared threat information they received from CISA.

After Russian hackers interfered in the 2016 presidential election through social media manipulation and the theft and dissemination of Democratic Party emails, there were real concerns that 2020 could see a repeat.