The 2024 U.S. presidential election is turning out to be a race like no other. And regardless which political party wins, it has been deemed a top risk—one that “will be by far the most consequential for the world’s security, stability, and economic outlook,” according to Eurasia Group’s Top Risks for 2024.
In fact, the first major election-related cyber attack has already occurred: a hack into the presidential campaign of GOP nominee Donald Trump. U.S. intelligence agencies have attributed the attack to Iran and warn that the country has stepped up its efforts to interfere with the presidential race.
With the U.S. elections almost here—which include 60-plus national races and several at the state and local levels—we’re sharing our election preparedness checklist to help ensure security leaders and teams at both public and private organizations are fully prepared and able to protect people (voters, employees, customers), facilities and operations.
U.S. Presidential Race: 162+ Million Ballots
Approximately 244 million Americans are eligible to vote in this year’s presidential election, based on numbers from the 2020 presidential race—in which 66.6% of eligible voters participated—we could see more than 162 million people cast their vote. (Bipartisan Policy Center)
Dataminr election security checklist
Employ CISA best practices
Let’s start with some of the best practices put forth by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as part of its #Protect2024 campaign—a concerted effort to ensure safety across potential physical and cyber risks.
Build connections
To increase vigilance and accelerate response time, establish relationships with both public and private organizations including businesses surrounding election facilities (polling places, election offices and warehouses) and local authorities, first responders and emergency management teams. It’s also important to connect with community leaders and organizations.
Pro tip: If you need support, contact your local CISA Protective Security Advisor (PSA)—a security subject matter expert that can assist in securing critical infrastructure operations.
Plan for physical security incidents
As with any large-scale event, ensure you have a well-established plan that outlines how you will respond to physical security incidents. This calls for maintaining situational awareness, applying any lessons learned from past events, and taking into account key factors such as traffic flows and evacuation routes.
Note that stadiums, conventions centers and other large-scale sites do not have the same protections as government sites. Security teams can leverage CISA resources for recommendations on how to secure such facilities.
Conduct credential management
Ensure your credentials are updated and you have implemented multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect voter data and prevent unauthorized access. Don’t forget to check that passwords used for systems handling election information are strong and unique.
Implement network segmentation
Don’t overlook this critical cyber defense strategy. By dividing a network into distinct sections, organizations create virtual barriers against potential threats. Use this approach to ensure that if one segment of the network is compromised, other critical systems are not affected—and limit lateral movement within the network.
Fortify against malware
Implement rigorous email security measures, such as scanning attachments and links for malicious content, to prevent malware from infiltrating your network. Doing so effectively reduces the risk of infection and helps protect the integrity of the election infrastructure.
Establish baseline monitoring
Establish a baseline of normal network activity so that you can identify anomalies that might indicate a cybersecurity threat. This proactive approach allows for early detection of potential issues, enabling a swift response to mitigate risks and helping to protect election systems from unauthorized access and potential compromises.
Critical election security questions to assess your readiness
The following questions will help you to assess your organization’s election preparedness.
- In cases where we have assets at or near a polling station, are we able to ensure that physical security threats will be surfaced and alerted on—as they emerge and unfold?
- Do we have real-time visibility of physical security events that occur at polling locations across the country?
- Do we have the coverage needed to maintain situational awareness in the days after the election—in both the physical and digital domains— but before official results have been finalized?
- Do we know the location of our facilities in proximity to historic flashpoint locations?
- Are we able to identify, in real time, voter data breaches?
- Have we identified critical suppliers, third-party providers and potential concentration risks that could affect our supply chains should a disruption occur?
- Have we considered bringing together a cross-functional group of leaders to discuss potential concerns and scenario planning?
- Do we have a communication plan in place to keep employees informed about potential security risks during the election period and in the days that follow?
- Are our cyber and physical security teams working in lockstep to identify potential cyber-physical risks?
- In the event bad actors attempt to capitalize on the election by launching an infrastructure-disrupting cyber attack, do we have a response plan for outages and other disruptions caused by mass deployed software technologies?
Stay Ahead of U.S. Elections Risk
Dataminr provides extensive coverage on election-related events at the national and hyperlocal level for public sector, cyber and physical security teams.
