KDSN RADIO News
Cyber security team is monitoring Iowa election offices 24/7 now
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate convened a gathering of state and federal officials at the Iowa National Guard’s headquarters today to tout security measures surrounding the General Election.
“It is because of numerous checks and balances and many, many layers in place that help us ensure Iowa elections are safe and secure,” Pate said.
Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Bayens said his agency will be a hub for collecting information from three thousand law enforcement and intelligence agency partners. “Our duty and focus for the upcoming election is to alert Iowans as to any false information that may circulate through email, social media, or telephone calls,” Bayens said, “as well as physical threats on election day or the days that follow.”
Bayens indicated false information about the election typically centers around fake notices that polling sites have moved or are closing, as well as false allegations of election intimidation to spark fear about voting.
“Please also be mindful of scam artists claiming you can register a ballot or vote online or over the phone. These fraudsters are attempting to obtain your personal information so they can either steal your personal identity or trick you into believing you have already voted,” Bayens said. “We encourage all Iowans to be mindful of such efforts and to only rely on trusted information sources such as state or local election officials.”
Cyber security staff from the state government and the Iowa National Guard are monitoring election offices in Iowa 24 hours a day now. Phil Kirk of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the regional director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or CISA, said Iowa has key election safeguards, like testing of all election equipment before it’s used to count paper ballots and, after the election, results in randomly-selected precincts are audited for accuracy.
“The 2024 election cycle is facing arguably the most complex threat environment ever,” Kirk said, “but the nation’s elections infrastructure is more secure and the election community more prepared than ever.”
Kirk emphasized that every voter in Iowa will be casting a paper ballot that enables counts, recounts, and audits. “I want to address Iowa voters directly: thanks mostly to the hard work of your state and local election officials, their partners, and CISA security experts across this region I have confidence we are doing everything we can to ensure a safe and secure election,” he said, “and that you should be confident, too.”
The FBI is the primary agency in charge of investigating election-related crimes and the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Omaha office said an “election command post” has been set up there to coordinate a state and federal response to any threats related to this year’s election.
