15 Items

Voters mark their ballots during early voting at the Park Slope Armory in Brooklyn, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020.

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Report - Defending Digital Democracy

Beyond 2020: Policy Recommendations for the Future of Election Security

| February 2021

The 2020 election presents a paradox. Despite dramatic changes to the election process due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly complex threats since the 2016 election, 2020 is widely regarded as “the most secure [election] in American history.” Operationally, it was also one of the smoothest. State and local election officials overcame unprecedented challenges and scarce resources to administer an election with fewer incidents of cyber compromises, technical failures or long lines than anticipated. After Election Day, recount procedures functioned as designed. Yet, amidst these successes, officials from both parties faced a barrage of mis- and disinformation about the election process that served to undermine confidence in the result.

Though the election security ecosystem survived the triple threat of cybersecurity, physical security, and mis- and disinformation in 2020, this success will prove to be hard to replicate in future election cycles without proper investment and reinforcement.

Press Release - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Midterm Campaigns Get Timely Cybersecurity Training in New Belfer Center Video

A practical training video for campaign staff and volunteers from all political parties, "Five Things" was produced by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs' bipartisan Defending Digital Democracy Project to help campaigns understand the importance of cybersecurity and learn what they can do about it.

A child waits for her mother to finish voting in a polling booth at the Nativity School on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

AP Photo/John Minchillo

Analysis & Opinions - Financial Times

America vs. the Hackers: a Cyber-Security Bootcamp

    Author:
  • Hannah Kuchler
| Apr. 26, 2018

It is a war game with a twist. Instead of army officers, election officials are in charge. Instead of battling against an enemy armed with missiles, defences are choreographed against hackers hidden behind foreign computers. With the US midterm elections fast approaching, more than 160 election officials from across the country have just months to learn how to defend democracy.

Defending Digital Democracy “Hackathon” finalists with Belfer Center Director and former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter​​​​​​​

Benn Craig/Belfer Center

News

National Student Hackathon Showcases Innovative Proposals to Thwart Cyberattacks and Information Operations

| March 30, 2018

“Honey bots” that counter malicious bots. An app called Sanity Check. Cyber Security Bonds. And technology that breaks the grip of online echo chambers. Those are just some of the ideas that college students from around the country presented Thursday in Cambridge as part of the Defending Digital Democracy Project’s first-ever Information Operations Technical and Policy Hack-a-thon.

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center Newsletter

Building Cyber Defenses For U.S. Elections

| Spring 2018

Undaunted, a group of young civil servants is working directly with political operatives and state and local officials to fortify campaigns and elections against cyberattacks and information operations: Harvard Kennedy School students affiliated with the Belfer Center’s Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P).

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Announcement - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

D3P Information Operations Technical and Policy Hackathon

The Defending Digital Democracy Project wants your help in solving one of the biggest problems facing democracy and our society—information operations intended to influence domestic opinion, inflame divisions, or undermine trust in institutions. There has been a lot of discussion in the media, academia, and policy circles about the dangers of information operations—like spreading information through fake social media personas to further social divisions and influence public behavior. But we need more than talk to stop this—we need action. That is what this contest is all about.

Voting machines in Miami Shores, Fla., Nov. 8, 2016.

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

The State and Local Election Cybersecurity Playbook

| February 2018

This Playbook is intended for leaders at every level who play a role in running elections. While the future threats elections face are multifaceted, one principle stands clear: defending democracy depends on proactive leadership. This Playbook focuses on the U.S. experience, but it is also relevant to election officials around the world facing similar threats. We have designed it to identify risks and offer actionable solutions that will empower state and local election officials to protect democracy from those who seek to do it harm.

A view of the podiums during a news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House, Monday, April 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Election Cyber Incident Communications Coordination Guide

| February 2018

This Guide is primarily intended for use by the EI-GCC to coordinate multiple voices (and multiple facts) in an election cyber incident that crosses traditional jurisdictions. We are releasing the Guide publicly, because a range of officials may be interested in learning more about how state and local leaders can, and should, coordinate their communications in the event of this type of cyber incident. We hope this Guide becomes a starting point for the EI-GCC to establish its role as a central communications node in the event of an election cyber incident.

Microphones sit on a podium following Vice President Mike Pence’s speech at an event at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga., Friday, June 9, 2017.

AP Photo/David Goldman

Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Election Cyber Incident Communications Plan Template

| February 2018

This Plan Template document is primarily intended for use by state and local election officials as a basis for developing their own communications response plans, which include best practices for use in an election cyber incident. We are releasing the Plan Template publicly, because election officials are among those best prepared and always looking for industry best practices, as well as practical checklists. This plan will aid in that effort.

The room in Bethesda, Md., is prepared Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, for state election officials from all 50 states to attend classified briefings being held to raise awareness of foreign meddling in state election systems. (Brian Murphy/Office of the Director of National Intelligence via AP)

Brian Murphy/Office of the Director of National Intelligence via AP

Analysis & Opinions - The Guardian

Encryption Keeps Us Safe. It Must Not be Compromised With ‘Backdoors’

| Feb. 12, 2018

When the stolen information was exploited to generate news coverage or concoct “fake news” – such as that Democratic operatives were running a sex ring out of a pizza parlour – we learned some hard lessons in why privacy really matters. I worry the current rhetoric around encryption is ignoring that lesson.