LaRose issues 4th directive aimed at cybersecurity to county boards of elections
This week, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued Directive 2023-16, or Security Directive 4.0, to the state's 88 county boards of elections. The important directive is part of an ongoing effort to ensure safe, secure and accurate elections in Ohio.
As the most recent addition to a series of directives beginning in 2019, Security Directive 4.0 outlines extensive security standards for vendors, strengthens physical security requirements and modernizes cybersecurity capabilities. For county boards of elections who apply, the Ohio Secretary of State's office will provide $10,000 grants to implement the directive's requirements by Dec. 29.
“Today's technology is constantly changing, which means hackers and bad actors are constantly updating their arsenals to attack our systems," said LaRose. "Our focus and hard work over the last four years to implement a strong foundation of cybersecurity protections at both the state and county level in Ohio help us thwart these attacks. This vigilance plays a large role in Ohio's gold standard elections."
Highlights of Security Directive 4.0 reinforce these important measures:
• Implementing security language in contracts with vendors to help increase security posture while conducting elections.
• System maintenance through patching and upgrading systems.
• Ensuring that county board of elections receive proper training and are prepared with incident response plans.
Read the Security Directive 4.0 document in its entirety at https://files.constantcontact.com/b01249ec501/edd313f9-5437-47ec-bdcb-5….