DHS offers states cybersecurity help for voting machines

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is offering state election officials his department’s help to shore up the cybersecurity of voting machines.

On a conference call Monday, Johnson said the Department of Homeland Security National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center will help states audit machines, provide actionable intelligence and assist in other general ways.

{mosads}Experts have complained that computerized voting machines are vulnerable to hackers for years. Many feel that digital voting machines need to offer a paper trail to verify that tampering doesn’t take place. 

Recent attacks on Democratic Party email servers have ignited similar concerns among the wider public. 

Johnson also said on the call that states would be wise to follow guidelines for security set out by agencies like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 

The NIST already offers a voter machine security audit service.