CISA pressured to hack voting machine

Shortly after Donald Trump's second presidential term began, political officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reportedly pressured the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to discreetly purchase a voting machine and attempt to hack it. Two former administration officials told ProPublica that CISA was required to report the test results to the White House without informing the manufacturer of any vulnerabilities found.

CISA resisted political interference

CISA career officials viewed the request as an attempt at political interference. A former official suggested that the vulnerabilities found could have been hidden to potentially invalidate election results that did not align with the administration's interests. CISA employees said they could not carry out the mission, partly because the specialists needed for the test had been laid off from the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), linked to Elon Musk.

CISA faces significant staff reductions

After Trump returned to power, more than 1,000 CISA employees were laid off or left the agency, reducing its workforce by about a third. The president's 2027 budget proposal includes an additional $700 million in spending cuts, which could lead to 900 more layoffs. Several state election authorities said they received no help from CISA during the mid-term election preparations.

Loss of trust in CISA

States reported a loss of trust in CISA after the administration released classified documents about the 2020 election, which included confidential information shared with the agency. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said he lacked trust in CISA's interim director, Nick Andersen. In September, CISA released a 13-page election security plan, which Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows called a late offer of support.

Vulnerabilities found in voting machines

In August 2024, hackers at the DEF CON conference in Las Vegas identified vulnerabilities in voting machines set to be used in the 2024 U.S. elections. They said they would not have enough time to fix the issues before the election. A group of hackers found dozens of flaws in the machines, but it was unlikely fixes would be implemented in time for election day. Harri Hursti, co-founder of the DEF CON Voting Village program, said he was worried that critical fixes would not be made.