US Election 2020: Federal Authorities Cautiously Optimistic With No Apparent Cyber Interference

Election polls closed on Election Day 2020 without the United States having to witness any substantial public cyberattack following years of planning and concerns.

Federal Authorities Cautiously Optimistic With No Apparent Cyber Interference

According to Chris Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, which has the role of sustaining the security of the U.S. infrastructure cybersecurity, "I think what you're seeing more than anything is 3½ years of collaboration," reported NBC News.

Notwithstanding concerns of clashes at polling places, chaos ignited by the COVID-19 pandemic, confusion due to disinformation and hastily-changing voting guidelines, millions of U.S. citizens cast ballots a historically controversial election with few problems.

An estimated 103 million votes were cast before November 3rd Election Day due to early voting prompted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. This relieved polling places on Tuesday, which overall witnessed short or no lines.

Federal authorities were cautiously optimistic on Wednesday regarding having gone through the voting season without significant disruption by cyberattacks or other malign activity. However, they still warned of the possibility of that transpiring in the coming days, reported WAMU 88.5.

According to the cybersecurity agency at the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. election has featured the usual technical glitches and routine issues so far. Still, there were no remarkable signs of cyber interference.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency also noted these are early days to declare victory as polls near closing time across the country with days of vote counting and certification underway.

Krebs touted the joint effort with agencies, including the Election Assistance Commission and U.S. intelligence community.

According to Krebs, "The 50 states are working together, sharing information. From where we came in 2016 to where we are, we have a much better game plan."

Every Election Day comes with dilemmas as millions of voters cast ballots simultaneously in 50 states. But experts were comforted. They were relatively rare at the time.

A senior official with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency stated they are "not out of the woods" yet.

Officials said Election Day was seemingly an ordinary Tuesday online, and the country appeared to have cleared some of its largest milestones in the campaign as typically as practical.

The senior official further stated, "For the most part today it's been a little boring, and that's a good thing - this is kind of one of those best-case scenarios that we would hope for."

"It has been quiet, and we take some confidence in that, but we are not out of the woods yet," according to a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency official, reported The Buffalo News.

The relative triumph is a stark contrast from the 2016 presidential election when Russian military intelligence hacked into a state and numerous county systems.

It is reportedly impossible to indicate precisely how much the lack of an apparent cyberattack was courtesy of a lack of a serious attempt from a dedicated adversary, successful planning, or pre-emptive cyberattacks from the United States Cyber Command.