In the lead-up to the 2020 US elections, ISACA® surveyed more than 3,000 US members in January 2020 and again in July. Results show that confidence levels are low—and declining. Even though experts largely agree that technical controls and security procedures for elections are relatively strong, 56% of respondents are less confident in election security since the pandemic started, signaling the need for greater education of the electorate and training of election personnel to drive awareness and trust.
Respondents identified the following as the top threats to election security:
- Misinformation/disinformation campaigns (73%)
- Tampering with tabulation of voter results (64%)
- Hacking or tampering with voter registration rolls (62%)
- Hacking or tampering with voting machines (62%)
However, experts indicate that elections are more secure than these views indicate, and that steps need to be taken to restore confidence in the integrity of elections.
“Governments, from the county level up, need to clearly and robustly communicate what they are doing to secure their election infrastructure,” said ISACA Board Director Greg Touhill, who also served as the first US federal chief information security officer (CISO). “As the study indicates, the most real threat to the election—impacting all candidates from all parties—is misinformation and disinformation campaigns.”
The survey found that respondents believed the following actions could help ensure voter confidence and accountability:
- Educating the electorate about misinformation (65%)
- Using electronic voting machines with paper audit trails (64%)
- Increased training for election and election security personnel (62%)
To read all results and perspectives from security experts, visit the Election Security Survey page of the ISACA website.