Cybersecurity Policy Report, Senate OKs Bill to Apply Anti-Hacking Law to Election Systems, (Jul 18, 2019)
A bill that would make it a federal crime to hack any voting system used in a federal election cleared the Senate yesterday by unanimous consent.
The Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act (S 1321) was introduced after the Justice Department expressed doubts about whether the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a key federal anti-hacking law, would apply to cyber attacks on voting infrastructure.
Sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), the Judiciary Committee's chairman, Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.), and Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), S 1321 attempts to close that gap by explicitly applying the CFAA to voting systems.
"Russian interference in the 2016 election exposed just a small piece of our adversaries' cyber capabilities," Sen. Graham said today in a statement. "This legislation provides the Department of Justice the ability to investigate and prosecute those who seek to manipulate elections systems equipment. The House of Representatives should act quickly to pass this bill to help protect us from further attempts to interfere with the 2020 election."
"Our election systems need strong safeguards against enemy hackers seeking to subvert our democracy," Sen. Blumenthal said. "Voting machines are a prime penetrable target, and laws remain woefully outdated. This bipartisan bill provides the Department of Justice with powerful tools to vigorously prosecute and stop malicious hackers. Its unanimous passage tells the world that securing our nation's elections and cyber infrastructure is a bipartisan cause."
"Russia and other hostile actors are constantly trying to breach the cyber defenses of our voting systems and other critical infrastructure in an attempt to weaken the United States," Sen. Whitehouse said. "Protecting the instruments of democracy from foreign intrusion is vital to our national security and should be the goal of every member of Congress."
MainStory: Cybersecurity