The Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced that it will take more steps to warn state and local election officials if the agency discovers any cyberattacks this election season, NPR reports.
"It is the intent of the FBI that this new policy will result in increased collaboration between all levels of government for the integrity and security of U.S. elections," the bureau said in a statement.
Under the FBI’s previous policy, state officials were not alerted when a cyberattack was detected in a local election system, only county officials were warned. Two Florida counties were hacked in 2016, but state officials didn’t receive a briefing on either for almost two years.
"This chaotic dribs and drabs of information that's coming out is doing more harm to our constituents' faith in the electoral system than just coming out and providing some information," Rep. Stephanie Murphy, Democrat, said last year.
"Federal, state, and local governments must work together to better detect and protect against cyber-attack," the secretaries of state for Colorado, Ohio and West Virginia said in a statement after the FBI announced the policy change.
"We've already seen positive results from the partnership between our states, which strengthens our resilience from attacks and ensures voters across this nation will have the confidence they deserve as they cast their ballot this year."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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