WGN: Quigley pushes for better election security against hackers

This article was published on December 15, 2017. A link to the article can be found here.

By Bill Kissinger and Julian Crews

An Illinois congressman wants more help to protect elections from hackers.

Chicago democrat Mike Quigley says Illinois is still vulnerable to election cyberattacks.

Quigley, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee investigating Russian hacking of the 2016 election, says he's worried about 2018 because cyber experts say that a perfect defense is next to impossible.

The 5th District congressman says if the election infrastructure is attacked in 2018, detection and recovery is vital.

Experts say once the system is breached, modern voting technology that captures a paper or digital image of every ballot becomes critical. Because it's the only way to ensure that every vote is accurately tabulated.

Seventeen of America's intelligence agencies unanimously reached the conclusion that Russian hackers interfered with the 2016 election process.

Investigators say 39 state election systems, including Illinois, were targeted by Russian attackers.

Quigley is pushing for funding to create a secure digital network for election officials, to facilitate the rapid sharing of threats and incidents.