To help strengthen the security of America’s election systems, U.S. Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) on Feb. 23 proposed bipartisan legislation that would require voting systems across the nation to undergo simulated attacks as part of their standard certification process.
“People need to have confidence in their vote and our elections in order for democracy to succeed,” said Rep. Valadao, who cosponsored the Strengthening Election Cybersecurity to Uphold Respect for Elections through Independent Testing (SECURE IT) Act, H.R. 7447, alongside bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).
“The SECURE IT Act will help us find and fix the vulnerabilities in our voting systems that could be exploited by foreign or domestic adversaries,” Rep. Valadao said. “This is an important step to ensure the safety and security of our nation’s elections.”
Specifically, H.R. 7447 would direct the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC) to require that voting systems undergo cybersecurity penetration testing — a practice that allows researchers to search for vulnerabilities by attempting to attack a system with the same tools and techniques used by cybercriminals — in order to receive certification, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
Additionally, the legislation would direct the EAC to create a voluntary program for vetted researchers to access voting systems provided voluntarily by manufacturers to discover vulnerabilities and disclose them both to the manufacturer and the EAC, the summary says.
“I’m proud to lead this bipartisan legislation to help uncover potential vulnerabilities in our election systems, strengthen our elections infrastructure, and raise our defenses against bad actors,” said Rep. Spanberger.