The Department of Homeland Security has conducted a tabletop exercise to help public and private sector entities prepare and respond to cybersecurity issues that may arise during the 2018 midterm elections.
The Tabletop the Vote 2018: DHS’ National Election Cyber Exercise featured pointers on how to address potential risks to the elections such as manipulating information on political candidates and election procedures and performing spear phishing campaigns toward election officials, DHS said Wednesday.
Participants of the three-day activity were able to identify possible plans to disrupt voter confidence, voting operations and the integrity of elections.
DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen stated that the exercise helped test the abilities of the government and the industry to respond to cyber incidents that could affect an election.
Nielsen added that the effort also boosted the communication and incident response capabilities of the election community.
Government agencies such as the departments of Defense and Justice, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Security Agency, FBIÂ and U.S. Cyber Command sponsored the cyber response effort.