Arizona state lawmakers have been urged by State Secretary Adrian Fontes to provide a $10 million in initial funding and a $3.5 million annual allocation to help strengthen the state's election infrastructure following the compromise of its online political candidate portal in late June, StateScoop reports.
Immediate implementation of cybersecurity protocols and coordination with the Arizona Department of Homeland Security have helped fend off the cyber intrusion, which has not impacted the state's voter information database and Address Confidentiality Program. However, additional funding to modernize the state's election systems remains an urgent concern, said Fontes. "Cybersecurity is not a partisan issueit's about trust in our democracy. We have a duty to ensure our systems remain secure, modern, and resilientnow and for every election to come," Fontes added. Such a development comes as the federal government has moved to reduce support for cybersecurity programs aimed at state and local governments.
Immediate implementation of cybersecurity protocols and coordination with the Arizona Department of Homeland Security have helped fend off the cyber intrusion, which has not impacted the state's voter information database and Address Confidentiality Program. However, additional funding to modernize the state's election systems remains an urgent concern, said Fontes. "Cybersecurity is not a partisan issueit's about trust in our democracy. We have a duty to ensure our systems remain secure, modern, and resilientnow and for every election to come," Fontes added. Such a development comes as the federal government has moved to reduce support for cybersecurity programs aimed at state and local governments.
