EPIC Obtains DHS Pre-Election Assessment on Threats to US Election Infrastructure
As part of EPIC's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis released to EPIC documents related to the Russian interference of the 2016 presidential election. One notable document is "Cyber Threats and Vulnerabilities to US Election Infrastructure." The report, issued before the presidential election, stated that the "DHS ha[d] no indication that adversaries or criminals are planning cyber operations against US election infrastructure that would change the outcome of the coming US election." The DHS report also stated that a successful widespread cyber operation against US voting machines would require "a multiyear effort with significant...resources available only to a nation state" but this level of level of effort "would make it nearly impossible to avoid detection." According to election experts, this assertion ignores the possibility that an adversary can change an election outcome without a widespread attacks. Launching targeted attacks on swing districts could compromise an election, especially when few states engage in post-election audits and the impossibility of a recount in states with paperless voting machines. EPIC is pursuing several other related FOIA cases about Russian interference with the 2016 election: EPIC v. FBI (response to Russian cyberattacks), EPIC v. ODNI (Russian hacking), EPIC v. IRS I (release of Trump's tax returns), and EPIC v. IRS II (release of Trump's offers-in-compromise).
December 10, 2018 | Share:
