Secretary of State Mac Warner and the West Virginia Military Authority said the partnership will provide a member of the West Virginia Air National Guard specializing in cyber systems operations to join the daily operations of the Secretary of State’s Office to assess elections systems and monitor cyber security, the release said.
“We’re thankful to be partnering with the West Virginia National Guard on protecting our elections infrastructure,” Warner said in the release. “This partnership should ease the minds of West Virginians that share in the concerns of foreign or domestic cyber interference of our elections process. We will use every resource available to protect our democratic process, ensure voting accuracy, protect voter’s private information and give the confidence that our state agencies are working together to combat every threat.”
The staff member from the state Air National Guard will be embedded with the West Virginia Intelligence Fusion Center, the release said. The center’s mission is to anticipate, prevent and monitor criminal and terroristic activities in the state.
“We’re fortunate to have a host of cyber security experts and capabilities in the West Virginia National Guard and look forward to working with the secretary of state to ensure our election systems are protected from cyber threats,” Maj. Gen. James A. Hoyer, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, said in the release.
The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management helped to develop the partnership, the release said.
“Ensuring the security of our elections system is of vital importance,” Warner said. “It is imperative we stay vigilant to protect our systems, take action to detect threats that may exist and to have a plan for corrective actions if necessary. The agreement to partner with the West Virginia Military Authority is an important step to this goal.”
©2017 The Register-Herald (Beckley, W.Va.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
