The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cancelled a planned cybersecurity exercise scheduled for Election Day after the event starting gaining attention on social media.
The DHS and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) were scheduled to participate in a cybersecurity tabletop exercise on November 5th, followed by a two-day “Homeland Security Critical Infrastructure Conference” in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association International (AFCEA).
“So anyone have a problem with ‘Homeland’ security running a large scale cybersecurity exercise in Atlanta on election day? I mean what moron dreamed this up? I don’t like the way this smells,” Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCavita wrote last Friday.
So anyone have a problem with “Homeland” security running a large scale cybersecurity exercise in Atlanta on election day ? I mean what moron dreamed this up ? I don’t like the way this smells … pic.twitter.com/EAcpWlU7Ly
— Chris LaCivita (@LaCivitaC) October 18, 2024
But the agency scrapped the planned exercise after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) demanded additional information about the event in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week.
“I have recently become aware that a delegation of senior leadership of DHS, CISA, FBI, and various other federal agencies plan to spend Election Day and several days thereafter in Atlanta, Georgia at a homeland and cybersecurity conference hosted by the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA),” Paul wrote.
ICYMI: Dr. Paul Requests Information on DHS & CISA’s Participation at Election Day Cybersecurity Conference – Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs https://t.co/lZImgw0V40
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) October 21, 2024
“Rather than monitoring cyberthreats that may occur relative to the election, senior federal officials plan to spend Election Day participating in a four-hour ‘Critical Infrastructure Tabletop’ led by CISA staff, followed by a networking reception. Federal officials are also expected to participate in a ‘large scale cybersecurity exercise’ on Election Day.”
“I am deeply concerned about federal resources being diverted to support participation in an election-day cybersecurity conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It is well-known the State of Georgia is perceived as a critical swing state,” he continued. “The Georgia electorate has endured years of election-day-related rumors, intrigue, and litigation. The presence of DHS, CISA, and other senior administration leadership in Georgia on Election Day may contribute to the efforts of those who would seek to undermine the perception of electoral fairness.”
“On Election Day and in the days thereafter, the Administration should seek to give the public confidence in the fairness, safety, and security of our election system. That begins with ensuring that agencies and their staff are singularly focused on what matters, not on tabletop exercises and networking events during Election Day,” Paul added.
Paul also requested “unredacted copies of all records and communications between DHS, CISA,” the FBI, U.S. Army, and other “organizations related to the November AFCEA conference.”
The AFCEA blamed the cancellation on “threats stemming from disinformation” over the exercise spreading on social media.
“A rapid and unanticipated rise in rhetoric and threats stemming from disinformation about the purpose of the event and its proximity to Election Day contributed to the decision to postpone,” the organization wrote on its website.
This is incredible. After Senator @RandPaul started asking questions about why DHS was doing a large scale cyber exercise in Atlanta on Election Day, DHS postponed the entire event, blaming "disinformation." DHS is one of our most corrupt, politicized, and totalitarian agencies. pic.twitter.com/mjAYDObF9f
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) October 25, 2024
“Out of an abundance of caution and because a number of government agencies are unable to participate, we made this difficult decision so that we can deliver a high-quality and meaningful event, with deep and rich engagement across industry, government and academia, and full participation by all stakeholders.”
Notably, the FBI and CISA in a joint statement in August warned of a possible cyberattack against U.S. “election infrastructure” that could “hinder public access to election information.”
Deep State Planning To Undermine 2024 Election Integrity Under Cover Of Preplanned Cyber Attack pic.twitter.com/kwbSymnxuc
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 3, 2024
The PSA came in the wake of the widespread Crowdstrike critical outage, which affected voting machines in Maricopa County, Arizona — a county that has come to be seen as a bellwether for election fraud.
CISA has also recently come under fire by several Republican senators who demanded answers over the agency’s involvement in flagging online content in the name of election oversight that puts “the agency in direct conflict with the First Amendment.”
Thanks to Sen. Paul and others bringing to light this curious government Election Day cyberattack simulation, the DHS will have to focus on actually protecting the upcoming election rather than war-game scenarios of an election that’s been subverted in some kind of cybersecurity attack.