Homeland Security sends officials to Pennsylvania on primary day!

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (PNN) - May 15, 2018 - A top Amerikan Gestapo Department of Homeland Security division official met Tuesday with officials in Pennsylvania to discuss election security as voters head to the polls for primaries in the state.

Christopher Krebs, the current acting head of Homeland Security’s cyber and infrastructure protection unit, met with acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Robert Torres and other officials Tuesday morning. They discussed steps the state is taking to ensure its digital systems are secure on primary day and that officials are prepared to address any issues in the event something does not go as planned. The meeting underscores an ongoing effort by Homeland Security to build relationships with states and offer them assistance to secure their voting infrastructure ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. It took place as voters in Pennsylvania and three other states head to the polls to participate in their respective primaries.

“If I could put one message out there for the voters of Pennsylvania, I want to reinforce the fact that, at all levels of government, we take this seriously,” Krebs said at a press conference following the meeting.

“It’s not just today, or since yesterday, or since 2016. The integrity of the election has always been a priority,” Krebs said.

Pennsylvania and 16 other states have requested in-depth risk and vulnerability assessments from the department, which require federal officials to spend two weeks on the ground in a state to test the security of their election infrastructure. Officials expect Pennsylvania's assessment to be completed in June.

DHS has endured some scrutiny from Capitol Hill for what lawmakers see as a lack of urgency on the issue. Krebs insisted Tuesday that the department has “really ratcheted up the resources” to conduct the rigorous assessments before the general elections in November.

“We’re also getting more sensors out there to help understand what activity is happening across state networks,” Krebs said. The department's main concern, he said, is making sure "that the vote counts and is counted correctly."

On Tuesday, both Torres and Krebs said there are no direct threats to voting systems that have them worried at this time.

“We don’t have any specific credible intelligence about the midterms or even 2020,” Krebs said.

“But I will say this. I don’t need a specific piece of intelligence that’s going to have me pick up the phone and call Secretary Torres or get in the car and drive up here from D.C. We’re taking this issue seriously regardless of who the threat actor is,” he added.

Voters in Idaho, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Oregon head to the polls on Tuesday.