5 Ways to Ensure You're Prepared for Election Day

This video outlines five key strategies to help election officials secure their systems and be ready for potential threats on election day:

- Commit/Engage: Leadership must prioritize cybersecurity, involving all levels of government and collaborating with key partners like CISA. Work closely with third-party vendors to ensure they comply with security standards such as SOC 2 and FedRAMP.

- Understand: It’s crucial to be aware of potential vulnerabilities and threats, especially from state-sponsored actors like Russia and Iran. Monitor threat intelligence and understand how misinformation and social engineering can impact election systems.

- Plan: Develop a comprehensive incident response and recovery plan. This should include preparation for ransomware attacks, network disruptions, and securing physical devices, with coordination from local law enforcement and federal agencies.

- Simulate: Train teams using live-fire attack simulations, such as those provided by Cloud Range, to prepare for real-world threats. These exercises can help teams test their response procedures and update their playbooks based on lessons learned.

- Assess/Debrief: Conduct post-election audits, perform forensic analysis, and assess the effectiveness of security measures. Use these assessments to strengthen future election security and ensure continuous improvement.

This framework helps ensure election systems are prepared for both cyber and physical security threats while continuously evolving to meet new challenges.