IT 425-DL1: Election Security

Fair and secure elections are essential to democracy. Voting systems are as much a part of our nation’s critical infrastructure as are transportation, energy, and water systems. Thus, the importance of securing state and local voting systems that support both national and local elections cannot be underestimated.

This course provides an overview of the historical, cultural, and political significance of voting, the technical issues of securing election processes, and careers in service for public good. The course covers typical election system infrastructures, their operation, and the voting systems security guidelines and locality election security standards set by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Topics include risk assessment of registrar information systems, analysis of system and network documentation for accuracy, software patches, systems updates, configuring and deploying appropriate security software, and ensuring compliance with best practices in securing systems. This course may be taken independently or as the required gateway course for the Virginia Cyber Navigator Internship Program (VA-CNIP).