As early voters head to the polls for the midterm elections, the federal government is stepping up cyber security. "The 2018 midterm elections remain a potential target for state and non-state actors and we remain prepared to respond," said Matthew Masterson, senior cybersecurity advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. DHS is rolling out a new federal cyber attach detection system, called ALBERT Sensors, designed to detect hackers before they get into the election system. Every county in Florida now has an ALBERT, which alerts officials to suspicious computer IP addresses that are trying to get into the election system.
“In Seminole county we call it building a cyber mote around our office, but every county in Florida has this similar cyber mote blocking against any cyber intrusion that shouldn’t be happening,” said Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel. According to a recent Pew Research Center Poll, 67 percent said it’s “somehwhat” or “very” likely that Russia or som other foreign agency is trying to influence voting. Just 8 percent of respondents were confident in the election system. The ALBERT sensors aren’t 100-percent effective. The system’s only capable of blocking known threats that it’s programmed to identify.
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http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/feds-step-up-cybersecurity-ahead-of-midterms
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