THE COVER

How cyber secure is the US ahead of the 2024 election?

The cyber concerns around generative AI and beyond are not to be downplayed, and US cybersecurity agencies are well aware of this. Noting the “very complex threat environment”, CISA announced updates to the election security team, with Cait Conley, Senior Advisor to the Director, taking on additional responsibilities.

Conley, an Army veteran and cybersecurity and counterterrorism expert, will spearhead CISA’s partnership engagement and coordination efforts with election officials across the nation, reinforcing their role as frontline defenders of election infrastructure.

According to a report, Conley’s responsibilities involved engaging with secretaries of state and election officials to identify vulnerabilities in election systems, and conducting tabletop exercises on election threats in preparation for the 2024 elections. And bring together Harvard and MIT students, technology vendors, and policy experts to develop innovative tools that would aid election officials in defending against cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.

While the introduction of the bill requiring disclosure of AI use in political ads may be the first step to curb disinformation ahead of the 2024 US elections, but it may not be enough.

In the coming months leading to the elections, policymakers face difficult times with evident threats to election security. These majorly include cyberattacks on election infrastructure, disinformation campaigns, use of generative AI to disrupt election credibility and targeting election workers and officials.

It is the need of the hour for US security agencies to come together and target these threats head-on. While vulnerabilities may not cease to exist, the impact can be reduced by allocating systematic and wellplanned resources to counter these threats.

Officials must be made aware of the intricacies of these technologies and be equipped with effective strategies to counter misinformation.

Furthermore, the anticipated release of the CISA tool kit before the US elections is a proactive step forward. The 2024 elections pose a big challenge. It’s not just about who we vote for, but how we protect those votes from cyber threats. This might probably be the best chance to show that the US democracy can stand strong, even against these new challenges.