Prior to the midterm elections on Tuesday, the National Guard will activate cybersecurity teams in 14 states to fend off any potential meddling, Politico and StateScoop reported on Friday, Fox News informed.
Following the revelations of Russian intervention operations during the 2016 presidential election, the choice to have teams prepared for support has become a common one in the recent elections.
The leader of the Illinois National Guard, Air Force Maj. Gen. Rich Neely, reportedly told the news outlet StateScoop that they are just starting to ensure that the elections are as secure as possible.
National Guard Cyber Forces reportedly supported primary elections in eight states earlier this year and are ready to defend the integrity of the midterm elections if necessary.
Teams are present in the following 14 states on Tuesday: North Carolina, Arizona, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, Washington, and West Virginia.
According to Politico, the main organization entrusted with defending election infrastructure against cyber threats, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), would interact with National Guard personnel and provide them with security updates.
The National Guard has approximately 2,200 personnel working in 38 different cyber units to assist state and municipal agencies with issues including network evaluations and risk mitigation.
States like North Carolina have “core teams” of 10 cyber personnel, but during an election cycle, that number will rise to include partners from the federal government and disaster management.
North Carolina has established a Joint Cyber Mission Center made up of members of the National Guard and federal liaisons from CISA and the Department of Homeland Security, according to Maj. Gen. Todd Hunt, adjutant general of the North Carolina National Guard, who revealed this during a virtual briefing on Friday.
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