Across the US, states are taking measures to help ensure that their processes and voting infrastructure are safe from interference during the upcoming midterm elections. This ebook looks at how seven states are implementing strategies and solutions to foil attackers.

From the ebook:

Colorado was one of 21 states targeted by Russian operatives during the 2016 election. But unlike many others, the state has spent years implementing top-tier cybersecurity measures and audits to prevent hackers from entering its systems and interfering with the election process.

Colorado receives top marks in the three most important election security categories, according to a February report from the left-leaning Center for American Progress comparing the election security of all 50 states:

• Adhering to minimum cybersecurity standards for voter registration systems
• Carrying out elections with paper ballots
• Conducting robust post-election audits

“Long before the Russians were attempting to hack into voter registration databases, we in Colorado were already really concerned about things like phishing, intrusion attempts on the voter registration database, and so forth,” said Colorado elections director Judd Choate. In 2013, the state began requiring two-factor authentication to log into the voter registration database: a login name and password, as well as a token that changes numbers every minute.

“Each one is different, and the idea is that it prevents people who shouldn’t be in our system from getting into our system and getting the credentials that are able to make changes to people’s records,” Choate said.