Hays County Courthouse, San Marcos, TX (May 28, 2019) – Hays County Elections Administrator Jennifer Anderson has been elected to the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center™ (EI-ISAC®) Executive Committee, which supports the cybersecurity needs of elections offices nationwide as part of Homeland Security’s efforts to ensure elections security.
“I’m honored to be part of this organization charged with identifying and mitigating cybersecurity threats to elections in the United States,” Anderson said. “This sharing of information between the U.S. Government and local elections authorities helps identify threats and vulnerabilities happening on a worldwide scale and makes it much easier to mitigate those threats before they reach election offices. It’s equivalent to what law enforcement does through the FBI-sponsored Joint Terrorism Task Forces and fusion centers. Homeland Security learned from this law enforcement effort that information sharing is important in rapidly identifying crime that crosses state lines and expeditiously removing offenders.”
Through the EI-ISAC, election agencies will gain access to an elections-focused cyber defense suite, including sector-specific threat intelligence products, incident response and remediation, threat and vulnerability monitoring, cybersecurity awareness and training products, and tools for implementing security best practices.
Among the many Executive Committee’s responsibilities are discussing security concerns brought to their attention and advising the director on EI-ISAC’s strategic direction.
Anderson noted that participation on this committee means Hays County is working effectively and operating as one team with multiple jurisdictions throughout the nation on synchronizing cyber security efforts, analysis and mitigation. This integration is key to ensuring national and state policymakers receive timely and accurate analyses from EI-ISAC to make educated decisions.
Anderson will serve a two-year term.