“Hacking the Election” to explore vulnerability of U.S. electoral system
As the U.S. moves toward the 2016 presidential election, a panel of distinguished experts will discuss timely issues on the ability of the U.S. government and local state jurisdictions to maintain the confidentiality, availability and integrity of our most sensitive information systems and networks.
Sponsored by the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, “Hacking the Election” will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24 in the Young Building.
In recent years, state-sponsored hackers and proxies have breached targets from the White House to the State Department to the Office of Personnel Management to the Democratic National Committee, and attacks against electoral candidates and the parties they represent are likely to continue up until the presidential election in November and beyond.
More troubling is the possibility that foreign governments may seek to manipulate election results directly or indirectly by affecting turnout, disrupting election sites and ultimately undermining confidence in the U.S. electoral system itself.
How might recent hacks impact the outcome? What can be learned from recent breaches? Is the vulnerability of the U.S. electoral system (including voter registration databases and voting machines) to cyber attack a real threat? If so, how can those breaches be detected? What can the U.S. ultimately do to protect the integrity of its elections from hacks?
Panelists will include:
- Shawn Henry, president, CrowdStrike
- Sean Kanuck, former national intelligence officer for cyber issues, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
- David Mussington, director, Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise, University of Maryland
- Francesca Spidalieri, senior fellow for cyber leadership, Pell Center
- Brent Turner, secretary, National Association of Voting Officials
To RSVP, visit the Pell Center’s Eventbrite page. For more information, contact the Pell Center at (401) 341-2927 or pellcenter@salve.edu.
