Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea convened over 100 elections and IT officials for a Cybersecurity Summit on Friday, October 25, 2019, at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center in Newport.
SECRETARY GORBEA AND SENATOR WHITEHOUSE
The five-hour forum gave Rhode Island elections officials an opportunity to hear from national and statewide cybersecurity experts on several topics, including:
Current best practices on the state and local level to secure election systems ahead of 2020
Combating misinformation and disinformation campaigns
Common causes of data breaches and way to prevent them
Actions being taken on the federal level to protect elections
“Protecting the integrity of every vote requires teamwork at all levels,” said Secretary Gorbea. “We have incredible expertise and resources available from state and federal organizations. My office will continue creating spaces for learning and providing resources that ensure everyone involved in elections is empowered with the latest information to be vigilant against cyberattacks.”
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The Cybersecurity Summit was held at the Pell Center at Salve Regina University.
The summit featured talks from members of the Department of Homeland Security, the Rhode Island National Guard, the Rhode Island State Police, the Rhode Island Board of Elections, the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), the Cyber Leadership and Public Research Initiatives teams at Salve Regina, and a video message from Rhode Island Congressman Jim Langevin.