HomeInsightsSpotlightElection Security Spotlight — Situational Awareness Room

Election Security Spotlight — Situational Awareness Room

What it is:

The Situational Awareness Room (SitRoom) is an online platform U.S. State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) election officials use to facilitate information sharing and reporting between members, the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (EI-ISAC®), and our federal partners. The main feature of the SitRoom is a chat function that enables election officials to report suspicious activity they see in near real-time. Our analysts staff the SitRoom to assist members with any reported activity and provide additional analysis, if necessary. Supporting members and our federal partners are also present to share information and provide assistance.

Entry to the SitRoom is based on the level of access for which your primary account holders have provided you. EI-ISAC members with Executive or Technical Level 2 access or above are approved to enter the SitRoom.

Why it matters:

It is incredibly important for election officials and your trusted IT professionals to participate in the SitRoom. By reporting incidents you see in the field, other jurisdictions can corroborate the reports and share back if they are seeing similar activity. This enables us to identify trends and warn other jurisdictions of threats they may face. With this information, the EI-ISAC and our federal partners can assist with response to threats or potential threats.

What You Can Do

If you are unsure about the status of your EI-ISAC account, please reach out to your account manager or simply email [email protected]. Once we verify your membership, we will be happy to provide you with a list of contacts and permissions on the account and who is approved to enter the SitRoom based on their level of access. Once you review this information, let us know of any changes you need to make whether it’s adding a contact, removing a contact, or adjusting a current contact’s level of access or other permissions.

SitRoom dates and hours of operations for the 2024 General Election are as follows:

  • The SitRoom will operate on Monday, October 21, through Saturday, November 2, from 8:00 A.M. ET to 8:00 P.M. ET.
  • Beginning on Sunday, November 3, at 8:00 A.M. ET, the SitRoom will remain open 24 hours a day.
  • The SitRoom will close 24 hours after the polls close.
  • The SitRoom will remain in a ready state throughout the election cycle (i.e., certification, electoral college, and the inauguration).

The EI-ISAC will send out a link and password to access the SitRoom the day prior to the SitRoom opening.

Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.