EL-ISAC - RIP (and Perhaps MS-ISAC as well)
Pouring one out for EL-ISAC today. I actually knew about this one a couple of weeks back, but apparently the "official statement" that they are history was announced yesterday.
Trump administration halts funding for two cybersecurity efforts, including one for elections: apnews.com/article/election-se…
This one is somewhat personal as I had the honor of working with a number of the folks at the Elections Information Sharing and Analysis Center during my time at the Illinois State Board of Elections. That group, along with the elections staff at CISA (who are also now gone), were a critical component in ensuring the cybersecurity of elections agencies and elections systems in the U.S. I don't think it is possible to downplay the impact that shutting them down will have on elections integrity.
Even more worrisome is that it now also appears that MS-ISAC, which is the larger and more general Information Sharing and Analysis Center, is also on the chopping block. This one has been focused on strengthening the cybersecurity efforts of State and Local Government Agencies, including many School Districts. So, Transportation Agencies, such as the one I lead IT and Cybersecurity operations for, get daily intelligence from MS-ISAC regarding threats and exploits that are actively being conducted against our country. Crippling both ISACs (or in the case of elections, eliminating it entirely) will have a lasting impact on small government’s and local infrastructure’s ability to defend themselves for years to come.
Clearly we as a country have made a decision to roll-out the welcome mat to those that would hurt our Information Systems and Infrastructure. Why that is... is obviously a much larger conversation than I wish to have here today.
Instead, I simply want to Thank all of the folks at EL-ISAC who believed in the importance of maintaining the integrity of a Democratic Elections System so much that they were right there with all of us Elections Agencies at all hours of the day and night making it happen. For many of them it wasn’t a job, it was a calling. And it showed in everything you did.
You all deserved better.
Trump administration halts funding for two cybersecurity efforts
The Trump administration has cut millions of dollars in federal funding from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials. The U.S.Christina A. Cassidy (AP News)
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