County Voter Registrar, security contractor review election precautions

As the November 3, 2020 election approaches with alarms bells being sounded by both major party leaderships over attempts to interfere, manipulate or otherwise impact results in a fraudulent way, security issues have filtered down through state to local voter registrar departments in an attempt to minimize threats to the integrity of the foundation of our system of government – fair elections in which all eligible citizens may participate and have their votes counted.

And on Tuesday, September 8, the Warren County Board of Supervisors received a briefing on County Voter Registrar Carol Tobin’s work, some mandated by the state government, to ensure the integrity of our community’s election result. Tobin reminded the board that following implementation of “minimum standards for cybersecurity” enacted by the Virginia General Assembly, in August the board had authorized the County Registrar to prepare a mandated self-assessment of the county’s voting apparatus’ security from hacking or other outside interference.

County Voter Registrar Carol Tobin explains that the County has settled on electronic scanning machines with paper ballot backup – and the State notes those machines are not connected to the Internet for added cyber-security. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini – Royal Examiner Video by Mark Williams

She noted that with the help of the County Public School system’s IT director Tim Grant it was determined the County didn’t have the resources to accomplish the required cyber-security assessment. So, Assura Inc. was contracted for the work. Tobin introduced the Assura CEO to the supervisors.

“Cybersecurity, that’s a pretty charged subject, right?” Assura CEO Karen Cole said in introducing her summary of her company’s cyber-security assessment for Warren County. “And what I’d like to talk to you about this evening is where we are with elections, where we’re going, and some touchpoints to the … the county as a whole.”

“With respect to our upcoming election, it is quite a target for threat actors. And over the past several months we’ve seen an increase from foreign agents from Russia, China, and Iran. And last week we saw some new actors that we had not seen, with Cuba, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia,” Cole said of new international players our national security apparatus has identified as making cyber moves into the American political or informational sphere.

She explained that as technology and hacking have evolved, targeting has moved from a focus on larger communities to all sizes including smaller communities.

“And so localities are a rich target, not just from where elections are held, but from the treasure trove of confidential information that is maintained at the locality from all levels of government.

So, when working with our clients, we are starting out with election protection because we want to definitely make sure that you all are ready and protected for this election. That’s not to say you don’t already have cyber-security protections in place.

Assura Inc. will attempt to assure the integrity of the County’s electoral process against cyber-threats, CEO Karen Cole told the county supervisors. Foreign cyber threats from North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba have recently been added to those already identified from Russia, China, and Iran, she said.

“But it’s important as board members that you understand that cyber-security is a moving target. And it’s always at the forefront of leadership because at the end of the day cyber-security is not a technology issue, cyber-security is a people issue. The majority of data breaches happen because of human behavior, not because of technology,” Cole explained of a multi-dimensional threat involving humans at both ends of the hacking and being hacked equation.

She continued to explain her company’s focus, in two areas, first “a technology space” where they assure a lockdown of assembled online information, records and communications, and a “risk and compliance side”. The latter she described as “that program management piece” or the human side of the equation on the targeted side.

“However, this is a starting point,” Cole explained, continuing with a nod toward Interim County Administrator Ed Daley, “And one of the things I’m excited to see, and I thank Mr. Daley as we’ve moved forward with this contract, is that he does recognize the importance of cyber and that this becomes an effort that supports everything that you do. It ties to your Strategic Plan.”

Ed Daley may be wondering if it is safe to peek out from behind his mask to accept an accolade from Assura’s Cole on his comprehension of the importance of cyber-security to municipal government on multiple levels.

Cole pointed to earlier meeting conversations about broadband service expansion and “swapping out systems and new capabilities” in explaining the lasting and expansive importance of a refined cyber-security system to the municipality beyond the 2020 election.

“Cyber-security is a piece of that because in every major technological initiative there are also people out there that are threatening to take that away. So, there’s a balance out there. But we are going to start off with elections,” Cole said, refocusing on the immediate issue at hand, a 2020 election on the national side that is likely to be the most contentious and contested result, perhaps in American history.

“One of the things, as we start, is we will be building a roadmap, and that roadmap will be the one-to-three-year plan for elections to make sure that, not only are we meeting the requirements of the Commonwealth of Virginia but that it’s right-sized for her department,” Cole said gesturing toward Tobin, noting that a plan that does not fit the implementation capabilities of the department it is created for will do little good collecting dust on a shelf somewhere in the halls of government.

So, if election cyber-security is the short-term goal, the long-term goal is cyber-security throughout County departments, including the public-school system at a time of increased remote, virtual instruction due to the ongoing Coronavirus-2019 pandemic threat.

“At the end of the day you all are sharing a significant amount of data and resources. You all deserve to be protected, your citizens and stakeholders deserve to be protected,” Cole told county officials.

Archie Fox queried Tobin on the status of the county’s current voting machines after a foray, with many others, into online voting machines that were a security disaster. Those are a thing of the past, Tobin assured the supervisors of the current paper ballot-scanning machines.

Responding to a question from Fork District Supervisor Archie Fox on the general security of the County’s current voting machines after passing through several varieties as electronic voting machines came and went out of vogue, Tobin responded positively.

“Well, we’ve got a paper trail – so the scanner reads the ballots, it’s a digital scan that makes the count. So, we always have that paper trail as backup and that’s what the people want. So, I would say I think we’re there,” the county registrar replied to Fox.

State weighs in

In a related development three days after Cole’s appearance with Tobin at the board of supervisors meeting, a September 11 press release from the Virginia Department of Elections highlighted the State’s “Defending Democracy” Election Security Initiative.

“Virginians should feel confident that their votes will be counted accurately. The Department of Elections has worked to remove unsecured voting systems from service at the local level and promoting the transition to modern voting systems using voter-verified paper-based balloting. Furthermore, the equipment voters use to cast their ballots in Virginia are not connected to the Internet,” the release pointed out.

“Ensuring the integrity of our elections has always been and will continue to be a top priority for election officials across the Commonwealth. Protecting the vote is Defending our Democracy. We want Virginians to know that protecting elections is an ongoing process, and we are honored to serve the Commonwealth by doing so,” said Christopher Piper, Commissioner for the Virginia Department of Elections, who added, “During a time when our society is being overwhelmed by so much misinformation, we are committed to ensuring that we let Virginians know that they can trust the elections process.”

Now if he could assure that all mail-in ballots are delivered during an ongoing Coronavirus pandemic that is likely to have killed over 220,000 Americans by Election Day (191,353 U.S. deaths reported on 9/11/20), maybe everybody could settle down a little.

SECURING YOUR VOTE

The Department of Elections encourages voters to take the following steps to help promote election security and voter confidence:

● Check your voter registration status to ensure that it is current and/or find your polling place. Virginia provides a secure way for Virginia voters to access their registration information through our citizen portal: https://www.elections.virginia.gov/citizen-portal/.

● Only utilize trusted sources such as state and county agencies for election information.

● Follow the Virginia Department of Elections on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

New campaign highlights Virginia’s election security initiatives