Rage against the voting machine

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Jun 17, 2024 View in browser   By Joseph Gedeon With help from Maggie Miller and John Sakellariadis  Driving the day — Tech mogul Elon Musk ignited a social media storm by calling to "eliminate electronic voting machines," fueling a growing movement that demands a return to hand counting paper ballots. HAPPY MONDAY and welcome to MORNING CYBERSECURITY! Summer is always better when it starts with three high-stakes soccer games a day. And not only are the games filled with drama, but it’s also the one month where Europeans are so busy hating on each other that they forget to be mad at us for calling it soccer. Have any tips or secrets to share with MC? Or thoughts on what we should be covering? Find me on X at @JGedeon1 or email me at jgedeon@politico.com. You can also follow @POLITICOPro and @MorningCybersec on X. Full team contact info is below.   JOIN US ON 6/26 FOR A TALK ON AMERICA’S SUPPLY CHAIN: From the energy grid to defense factories, America’s critical sites and services are a national priority. Keeping them up and running means staying ahead of the threat and protecting the supply chains that feed into them. POLITICO will convene U.S. leaders from agencies, Congress and the industry on June 26 to discuss the latest challenges and solutions for protecting the supply lines into America’s critical infrastructure. REGISTER HERE.     Today's Agenda Google’s global head of AI and emerging tech policy Alice Friend, acting associate administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Travis Hall and attorney adviser at the Justice Department’s civil rights division Ben Winters are joining a virtual conference hosted by the Federal Communications Bar Association to discuss progress on the AI executive order and what happens next. Starts at noon. CEO of What’s Trending Shira Lazar, chief operating officer at Numbers Protocol & Capture Vera Wu and managing director of Infiom Mariana Danilovic are headed to the National Press Club to talk about how AI has transformed the media and how to uphold truth in the digital age. 6 p.m. Election Security VOTING WARS — Elon Musk set the Xverse ablaze this weekend with a viral post calling to “eliminate electronic voting machines” due to hacking risks, racking up over 75,000 reposts. It came after independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seized on voting irregularities in Puerto Rico’s recent primary to demand a return to hand-marked paper ballots nationwide. The pro-hand count movement has been gaining steam, with at least eight states introducing legislation in 2023 to ditch voting machines altogether. But election security experts are pushing back hard. “Flip the claim that there’s ‘no evidence of widespread fraud.’ We have evidence of sound elections,” said Pamela Smith, president of the nonpartisan Verified Voting, which promotes the responsible use of technology in elections. — Understand the problem: Smith argues that while tiny jurisdictions can feasibly hand count ballots, moving to full manual counts in larger locales would be a logistical nightmare — delaying results for weeks or months and costing counties millions to hire enough workers. Not to mention studies showing machines tend to tally votes more accurately than humans do. “There is no evidence whatsoever that ‘irregularities’ have ever been significant enough to change the results of an election,” Seattle’s former CISO Mike Hamilton tells Morning Cyber. — All hands on deck: Yet the hand count crowd clearly remains vocally skeptical of voting tech, however small the hacking risk. So what’s an election official to do? The answer: Robust audits. Verified Voting and other election watchdogs recommend pairing machine counts with rigorous post-election audits that hand tally a portion of ballots to verify results, correct any errors and assure the public of the system’s integrity. "Banks audit themselves regularly, and with elections you should audit every one," Smith said. "That's a best practice for ensuring there were no unnoticed errors or tampering." — On the island: In Puerto Rico's case, it’s too soon to tell what exactly happened. But officials caught the glitches that threw initial results out of whack, thanks to a "paper trail" that allowed double-checking, Smith noted. While isolated errors and snafus are inevitable, she insists that "jurisdictions have been improving all their practices" to ensure the overall system is "resilient" enough to "still find the correct outcome." — Touch some grass: As for Elon's rant going viral? "The big problem is most of the public doesn't know how elections really work," Smith said. It's a messaging challenge election experts hope to tackle by spelling out the security protocols baked into the process. Surveys from Verified Voting found people felt more confident after learning about audits and safeguards, Smith added. "All the elements are in place for 2024 to be the most secure election yet," she said. — Parting shot: Of course, it remains to be seen if such reassurances can counter the visceral Machine vs. Hand Count debate raging online and in legislatures nationwide. RFK Jr.’s press team did not respond to a request to comment on whether they’d consider endorsing Musk’s all-out ban. Hamilton, on the other hand, suggests dismissing Musk’s concerns altogether. “Elon Musk knows identically zero about the operation of the machines, the fact they’re not connected to county networks, what kind of checks and balances are in place, the voting auditing process, nada,” Hamilton said. “These comments are akin to ‘don’t drive because a meteorite might hit your car.’” Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories. At the Agencies MC EXCLUSIVE — The State Department hosted a two-day summit last week with almost two dozen countries focused on combating malicious cyber threats and coordinating international response efforts, per a readout shared with Maggie. Top cyber diplomats from 22 countries and the EU met with Liesyl Franz, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for international cyberspace security, who led discussions on deterring state-backed hacking, ransomware and other malign cyber activity aimed at "destabilizing and undermining democratic processes and societies." — Key challenges: State outlined the growing cyber threats in the Indo-Pacific against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, as well as the persistent ransomware scourge worldwide. And don’t forget this year’s ongoing global elections: The readout noted "nearly half the people of the world are going to be going to the polls in 2024." — Who made it: The group — which included allies like the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Japan, Singapore and South Korea — reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the United Nations framework on responsible state behavior in cyberspace. That framework, which condemns offensive cyber operations specifically on critical infrastructure and emergency response teams, has been a centerpiece of U.S. cyber diplomacy. The State Department praised the "productive exchanges" during the sessions and said it looks forward to further collaboration to combat cyber threats on the global stage. FLOCKING TO SECURE BY DESIGN — Tech and security companies are lining up in droves behind a new CISA-led push to encourage the creation of secure software. More than 150 firms have now signed up for the agency’s Secure by Design Pledge since it was unveiled last month at the RSA Security Conference, according to an agency website and a statement from CISA. That’s more than double the number of original signatories. — Why it matters: The rapid growth in new participants offers a promising sign that the initiative, which CISA has described as critical to reducing the vulnerability of software writ large, is ginning up real enthusiasm. In a statement, CISA Senior Adviser Jack Cable said he was “thrilled” by the growth and said it was proof of “growing alignment behind Secure by Design principles,” a roadmap of basic steps software makers can take to improve security across their products and without asking anything of their customers. — What to watch: The pledge, which commits signees to publicly document their progress toward seven different security goals, is voluntary — one reason why enthusiasm and continued public attention are crucial to its success. “We look forward to collaborating with every company who has signed the pledge as they implement and document their actions over the next year,” Cable wrote in his statement.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY.     On the Hill FINANCIAL REVOLUTION — Hedge funds are going all-in on artificial intelligence to guide their billion-dollar trading strategies. But a Senate report says regulators are way behind the curve when it comes to overseeing the potential risks. — Sneaky moves: The report from Senate Homeland Security Committee chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) on Friday finds hedge funds describe their AI systems using a jumble of terms, like "expert networks" and "optimizers." Some firms don't even consider the new tech true AI, despite utilizing machine learning and advanced analytics. — Disclose this: So what’s Peters' big concern? The complex and opaque nature of AI could allow hedge funds to skirt disclosure requirements to clients about their trading rationale and potential conflicts of interest. According to the report, “hedge funds may not be able to fully identify or sufficiently disclose to investors or regulators, decisions made by advanced AI systems.” The cyber-focused lawmaker, who has several bipartisan AI policy bills in the works, wants regulators like the SEC and CFTC to get ahead of the issue by: Creating clear definitions of what qualifies as an "AI trading system" Setting testing and human oversight standards firms must meet Requiring disclosure to investors of AI systems' risks and reliability — Reality check: Not everyone is sounding the alarms. Industry players say human oversight is still deeply involved, and regulators like SEC Chair Gary Gensler say existing regulations do apply to AI trading, even if new rules may be needed. Tweet of the Weekend Not everyone is happy with retired Gen. Paul Nakasone’s transition to OpenAI. @Snowden/X Quick Bytes SO LONG, DISINFO FIGHTERS— The Stanford Internet Observatory, a team that studied disinformation, is essentially shutting down after its staff faced lawsuits and political pressure. This closure comes amidst a Republican effort to discourage research on online political influence. The Washington Post’s Joseph Menn has the details. EYES ON MYANMAR’S INTERNET— Myanmar's military junta is cracking down on internet freedom by blocking VPNs and restricting access to information, writes the Associated Press’ Grant Peck. “How to Spot a Business Email Compromise Scam” (WIRED) Chat soon.  Stay in touch with the whole team: Joseph Gedeon (jgedeon@politico.com); John Sakellariadis (jsakellariadis@politico.com); Maggie Miller (mmiller@politico.com); and Heidi Vogt (hvogt@politico.com).   Follow us on Twitter Heidi Vogt @HeidiVogt Maggie Miller @magmill95 John Sakellariadis @johnnysaks130 Joseph Gedeon @JGedeon1   Follow us

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