The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has placed 17 election security staffers on administrative leave, raising concerns about the agency's ability to support state and local election offices ahead of the 2024 election. The internal review, according to a source, will examine efforts to combat foreign interference and misinformation campaigns in U.S. elections.
Staffers at the nation’s cybersecurity agency whose job is to ensure the security of U.S. elections have been placed on administrative leave, jeopardizing critical support provided to state and local election offices across the country. In recent days, 17 employees of the U.S.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who have worked with election officials to provide assessments and trainings dealing with a range of threats — from cyber and ransomware attacks to physical security of election workers — have been placed on leave pending a review, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly. The regional staffers were told the internal review would examine efforts to combat attempts by foreign governments to influence U.S. elections, duties that were assigned to other agency staff, according to the person. All were former state or local election officials who were brought in to build relationships across all 50 states and the nation’s more than 8,000 local election jurisdictions. They spent the past year meeting with election officials, attending conferences and trainings, and ensuring officials were aware of the agency’s various cybersecurity and physical security services. A request for comment Monday to a CISA representative and a representative of the Department of Homeland Security was not returned.Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, said the agency’s work had been particularly valuable for county clerks in his state. “The most value that we’ve got from CISA has been the people that they have on the ground in our state that build direct relationships, not just with us but with the individual county clerks,” Adams said during an interview late last month. “They’re teaching them and helping them check their physical security and their cyber hygiene, and that’s been extremely popular.” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said during an interview in late January that the agency had been a critical partner for state and local election officials. “And I hope that leaders in the federal government who claim to care about election integrity will recognize that,” she said. The other staffers placed on leave are current or former members of the agency’s Election Security and Resilience team, who were told the review was looking into agency efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation campaigns, according to the person familiar with the situation. The 10 election security specialists who worked with state and local election officials reported to a different team at CISA, the field operations division. The personnel moves come as questions have been swirling about the future of the agency in the face of sustained criticism from Republicans and key figures in the Trump administration. President Donald Trump’s new homeland security secretary,last month that CISA had strayed “far off mission” and she pledged to work with senators “should you wish to rein them in”
CYBERSECURITY ELECTION SECURITY CISA HOMELAND SECURITY ELECTION INTERFERENCE MISINFORMATION ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE REVIEWS
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