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Letter to the Hon. Kevin McAleenan, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security - Klobuchar, Lankford Press Department of Homeland Security to Continue Prioritizing Election Security during Departmental Transitions

Letter

Date: May 20, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Elections

Dear Acting Secretary McAleenan:

We write to express concern about how recent transitions in leadership at the Department of Homeland Security may impact efforts to improve election cybersecurity.

Special Counsel Mueller's report found that "the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in a sweeping and systematic fashion." Recently, FBI Director Wray said that "our adversaries are going to keep adapting, so we are very much viewing 2018 as a kind of dress rehearsal for the big show in 2020." With the Special Counsel's Report and other assessments from our intelligence agencies, we have a common set of facts about election interference and we must ensure that we are doing everything possible to protect our democracy from future attacks.

Since designating election infrastructure as part of our nation's critical infrastructure, the Department has done important work to improve election security. As we approach the next federal elections, it is vital that this work be scaled to meet the significant threat posed by foreign adversaries. While the Cyber and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) has been instrumental in building our national capacity to defend against and respond to cyber-attacks, more needs to be done and reports indicate that cybersecurity experts and government officials are concerned about the impact that Secretary Nielsen's departure will have on cybersecurity initiatives, including those aimed at protecting the 2020 elections. As you continue as Acting-Secretary, we strongly urge you to prioritize election security and to ensure that the Department's resources are allocated to reflect the increasing demands associated with election security.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter, we look forward to working with you to secure our election systems.

Sincerely,


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