RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia State Board of Elections on Monday unanimously passed minimum security standards for all Virginia elections administrators to follow starting next year.
In 2019, the General Assembly passed HB 2178. The legislation called for new, modern cybersecurity standards that must be met throughout the Commonwealth before systems are allowed to access Virginia’s election database. Since July, the Department of Elections along with a workgroup comprised of local government IT professionals and general registrars have met to compose a list of standards that will help to ensure the integrity of Virginia’s voter registration system.
View the full legislation below:
These new minimum security requirements for election administrators include setting new standards for creating secure passwords, requiring an increased emphasis on utilizing anti-virus protection on their election systems, and developing and training on incident response plans.
“Virginia is already recognized as a national leader for our focus and prioritization of initiatives designed to maintain the integrity of our elections,” said Department of Elections Commissioner Christopher Piper. “These new security standards will only bring even more support to our current efforts.”
These standards will be updated on an annual basis to keep up with changing technology and emerging cybersecurity threats.