US military to guard midterms after Trump gutted agency that protects elections
The National Security Agency and other military cyber units have long assisted with monitoring election infrastructure and defending it against possible hacking attempts. Election systems were designated as “critical infrastructure” in 2017, paving the way for greater federal cybersecurity support. Hegseth's announcement comes weeks before Election Day on November 3, with early voting already…
The United States military will provide protection for American election systems during the upcoming November midterm elections, according to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. The National Security Agency and other military cyber units have a history of assisting in monitoring election infrastructure and defending it against hacking attempts.
In 2017, election systems were classified as "critical infrastructure," leading to increased federal cybersecurity support for them. Hegseth's announcement comes as early voting has already begun, with the election scheduled for November 3.
The move is prompted by significant reductions in the capacity of the civilian agency responsible for protecting US election infrastructure. President Donald Trump has drastically diminished the role of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security. CISA is specifically designed to safeguard critical infrastructure, including election systems.
Last week, CISA released an election infrastructure security plan detailing potential threats to voting systems and the support it can offer to state and local election officials.
David Becker, a former US Justice Department attorney now leading the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, raised doubts about the timing of this move. Becker questioned the administration's commitment to helping state and local election officials, given the recent dismantling of the federal government's election cybersecurity capacity and the dismissal of their experts in early 2025. He suggested that the short timeframe before the election indicates that this initiative is merely for show.
Concerns surrounding possible election interference are valid. Cybersecurity assistance from the NSA and US Cyber Command is not new, but election experts, civil rights groups, and Democratic officials have expressed fears about potential government interference in voting and ballot-counting processes. Trump has consistently propagated unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud and has sought to alter established election procedures.
The Supreme Court recently blocked Trump's attempt to restrict mail voting, but it allowed the use of a federal database to verify voter citizenship.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
