Election officials must fend off a wide array of cyber threats, some launched by sophisticated actors. Smaller jurisdictions often have little funding for cybersecurity and depend upon resources that offer free help.
The federal government ended funding for information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs) that previously provided free and low-cost cybersecurity tools and threat intelligence to state and local governments and election officials.
The ISACs plan to continue, but some services may be reduced and there is a new fee-based membership model.<\/p>\n
Election officials frequently face all manner of cybersecurity threats. Cyber attackers may try to breach<\/a> voter registration databases and steal information, take down<\/a> websites that help voters find polls, spoof official websites and more. Just this November, Utah Lt. Gov Deidre Henderson issued a warning about AI-generated fake election results circulating online.<\/p>\n Across the country, public officials have often turned to trusted federally supported resources for help managing these dangers. The nonprofit Center for Internet Security (CIS) has traditionally provided no-cost and low-cost cybersecurity services and intelligence to state and local governments, in particular through its Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC). For decades, the MS-ISAC has helped states defend against and respond to cyber attacks. States and localities that are ISAC members receive<\/a> threat intelligence as well as one-on-one consultations with cybersecurity experts, some cybersecurity tools and a 24\/7 security operations center.<\/p>\n In 2018, CIS launched another resource, the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC) to provide states and localities with election-specific intelligence and security training. The EI-ISAC helps officials prepare against and respond to cybersecurity threats as well as physical threats like swatting, bomb threats and white powder mailing. Federal funding and a cooperative agreement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have allowed the ISACs to provide these services for free or low cost.<\/p>\n But early this year, the federal government cut funding for the ISACs and ended its cooperative agreement with CIS. Now, officials have had to navigate the 2025 elections (and are preparing for the 2026 midterms) in a new cybersecurity landscape.<\/p>\n \u201cThe federal government has pulled the rug out from under the state and local election officials who came to rely on the excellent services provided by the EI-ISAC at no cost because of the federal support,\u201d says Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.<\/p>\n ISACs Lose Funding But public-sector voices like the National Association of Counties<\/a> and Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs<\/a> sent letters insisting that state and local partners depend on the work of the ISACs. Their funding cuts come as turnover and shake-ups at CISA<\/a> (fueled in part by ire<\/a> over CISA\u2019s role in combating election disinformation on social media during the 2020 election) have created new uncertainty<\/a> about whether this federal partner will continue to provide the same level of election support.<\/p>\n
Early this year, the White House cut funding for the EI-ISAC. A federal official from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a March 3 letter<\/a> that this work \u201cno longer supports Department priorities.\u201d On March 11, CISA announced<\/a> it was also heavily cutting MS-ISAC funding, and it fully ended<\/a> funding support on Sept. 30.<\/p>\n