Statement from the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

The Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P), a bipartisan initiative of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, identifies and recommends strategies and tools to protect democratic processes and systems from cyber and information attacks. D3P has organized tabletop cyber security exercises with election officials from 44 states, representing both major political parties, providing training to hundreds of officials through its simulations.  

As part of its mission to protect the election process, D3P conducted a bipartisan cyber security tabletop exercise with the Republican Party of Iowa and the Iowa Democratic Party in November 2019. The table top exercise simulated cyber and misinformation threats the parties could face prior to, during and after the caucuses. It was not a technical exercise, and the technologies used on Caucus Night were not used or tested during the exercise. D3P was not involved in testing technologies.  Members of the D3P team, including Eric Rosenbach and Robby Mook, were not involved in vetting, approving or testing specific technologies used by the parties on Caucus Night at any time before, during or after this exercise.  

D3P is committed to its mission in supporting officials maintaining the integrity of democratic processes.