With support from Google, USC Annenberg is working with five other USC schools to train election and campaign officials nationwide to protect elections from digital attacks.
Contact: Emily Gersema at gersema@usc.edu or (213) 361-6730, or Emily Cavalcanti at emilycav@usc.edu or (213) 280-0699
The USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy (CCLP), together with partners from across the University of Southern California, is launching an innovative training program that empowers election and campaign officials nationwide to reinforce their defenses against digital attacks that may affect the integrity and outcome of elections.
With generous support from Google, the bipartisan initiative will provide in-state training sessions in all 50 states.
Election 2020 is just 12 months away, and experts anticipate that the United States will be the target of foreign and domestic cyberattacks that could compromise the country’s infrastructure, local and state governments, and news and information.
Starting in January 2020, the Election Security and Information Project will launch in-state programming consisting of a day-long series of briefings and exercises. While the curricula will be designed for state and local election officials, campaign officials of all parties, academics, nongovernmental organizations, journalists and students, programming will be open to the public and media to ensure maximum transparency.
“Our goal is to help state and local officials be better prepared for foreseeable threats—regardless of source, origin, party or candidate targeted,” said USC University Professor Geoffrey Cowan, the project’s principal investigator.