Iran Press/ America: The watchdog's report, issued with a week to go before Nov. 3, comes as the threat of violence has crept up the national agenda. The shift in attention comes after years of election-related anxiety revolving around the integrity of vote tallying machines and electronic poll books or the threat of foreign disinformation.
The DHS Office of the Inspector General noted that the department's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) offers an array of cybersecurity support to state and local governments.
But it said that while CISA's plans covered potential digital disruptions to state and local election systems, those plans "do not adequately address other elements such as physical security risk, threats of terrorism, and targeted violence" at election-related sites.
CISA's director, Christopher Krebs, pushed back against the watchdog's report, saying it was poorly timed and leads people to believe that the election is not secure.
In a message directed at US voters, Krebs said that while CISA "can certainly update plans, use more resources, and coordinate better with partners, I am confident that the work we have done to protect the 2020 election means your vote is secure and you should vote with confidence."
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