Trump weakens the resistance to the electoral - state officials are alerted

Trump weakens the resistance to the electoral - state officials are alerted

Misha Pride, the then mayor of South Portland, Maine, welcomed the voters early on the election day when police cars suddenly flared up the city center of the city with the flashing lights on. "Possible change of shooting," wrote the city manager to Pride. The officials blocked the center.

HOAX and the effects on the preparation of the election

The authorities quickly found that the call to the police was a joke - one of hundreds of threats and cyber attacks last November, which aimed to disturb the presidential elections. Some of the attacks were carried out by party fanatics, while others were initiated by foreign actors such as Russia and China. The coordination in the community center was only delayed by ten minutes.

dismantling security networks

The attacks in Maine and elsewhere in the United States had minimal effects due to strong preparation and the quick reaction of a network of hundreds of federal, state and local officers of election, cyber security and law enforcement. But now central parts of this network, which has been built in the past eight years, are systematically broken down by the Trump administration and Elon Musk's Ministry of Government Efficiency, which means that WaHBüos all over the country have to fight for protection against future threats.

layoffs and cuts

At the beginning of February, Musks team released 130 employees at Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), including ten regional security specialists who worked with local and state election officers. In addition, the Trump administration pursues plans to exclude 80 % of the remaining CISA employees from the protective measures of the public service, which may enable dismissal for political reasons. Attorney General Pam Bondi this month was an important FBI unit that was responsible for the investigation of foreign influences on elections.

warnings of the states

The measures have triggered concern for state officials, which warn that the next round of national elections could seriously endangered the cuts. A cross -party association that represents 46 State Secretaries is urging the White House to clarify how basic functions to protect security can be fulfilled in the future.

react to inadequate answers

civil servants involved in the implementation of elections report that the measures already make the election in America more insecure and difficult. "It is absolutely hypocritical," said democratic senator Alex Padilla. "For a president who spreads excessive voting fraud to reduce the tools that we need to protect the integrity and security of our elections is incomprehensible."

disorders in the election security system

A large part of the election security system now under pressure was created during Trump's first term after the 2016 election when the US intelligence agencies found that Russia and its allies carried out hacking and disinformation campaigns against voter registration systems and wahbüos. The Obama administration therefore explained the electoral system for critical infrastructure in January 2017.

attacks on Cisa

recent attacks on Cisa from the Republican side based on the accusation that the agency had put social media under pressure to remove disinformation via covid-19 and elections. Critics argue that these advances are part of a wider, right -wing effort, networks that were set up for correcting false information about the 2020 election.

The relevance of the Ei-ISAC

A central element in combating national election threats was the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), which brought more than 1,300 election and law enforcement officers across the country to exchange information about threats. This center played a crucial role in informing civil servants that many of the threats on election day, such as that in South Portland, were wrong. Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows indicated that the EI-ISAC experienced a 158%increase in the reported cyber threats from 2023 to 2024

The future of election integrity

OF CISA and CISA employees say that the loss of the EI-ISAC creates fundamental security gaps. "We lose information among the election officers nationwide," said Bellows. A spokeswoman for Cisa emphasized that election officers continue to have access to the same support systems as other critical infrastructures.