The Secure Elections Act, S. 2593, which is expected to be marked up by the Senate Rules Committee later this month, has been freshly amended to require states to have a cyber response and communication plan in place as a precondition to receiving Federal grants to support election security and election technology modernization.
The state of Maryland is not properly securing Medicaid data and information systems, according to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report released today that found “numerous significant system vulnerabilities” in the state’s IT systems.
The Department of Homeland Security on Aug. 13-15 hosted “Tabletop the Vote 2018: DHS’ National Election Cyber Exercise,” inviting vendors and Federal, state and local election officials to participate in election security preparation. The three-day event offered a scenario based on real-world events and risks.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday convened a conference call with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) regarding cybersecurity and ongoing threats to the 2018 midterm elections.
The Federal Communications Commission said this week it is seeking public comment through Sept. 10 on its annual report to determine whether “advanced telecommunications capability”–typically referred to as broadband service–is being deployed “to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.”
A bipartisan group of House Intelligence Committee members today introduced the Secure Elections Act that would help state and local governments apply for Federal grants to modernize their election systems and receive relevant cyber threat information.
FirstNet, the nationwide public safety broadband network, announced that it is creating Emergency Drop Kits for first responders. FirstNet, a public-private partnership between AT&T and the First Responder Network Authority, is partnering with ruggedized cellphone provider Sonim on the kits.
The Department of Justice announced the expansion of its Tribal Access Program (TAP), which will allow Tribal governments to access and share more data with the Federal government. TAP can be used by law enforcement, court systems, probation offices and detention facilities.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced two pieces of legislation on Tuesday designed to improve cybercrime prevention and strengthen U.S. election infrastructure.
The NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Act, S. 770, is heading to President Trump’s desk where he is expected to sign it into law soon.
