MEDIA ADVISORY: West Virginia Election Cybersecurity Workshop Thursday
On Thursday, October 1, 2020, the USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative will host a free online West Virginia workshop, offering resources to campaigns, election workers, elected officials, academics, media and concerned citizens to reinforce election cybersecurity measures.
Contact: Tiffany Shackelford (703) 470-2996 or tshackel@usc.edu; Emily Gersema, (213) 740-6973 or gersema@usc.edu; or Ted Kissell, (714) 316-8808 or tkissell@usc.edu
Experts on Thursday afternoon will lead discussions on election cybersecurity with state and local officials and campaign representatives to help improve election cybersecurity in West Virginia. Topics will include cyber safety, disinformation and misinformation, and crisis communications.
The USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative, supported by a generous gift from Google, is an independent, bipartisan effort to strengthen election cybersecurity through workshops held for each of the 50 states.
“We are going to all 50 states, in person when possible or virtually when we cannot, to make certain information about best practices is available to everyone, but especially for those in campaigns and elections,” said Adam Clayton Powell III, executive director of the project. “We are a national campaign, and our candidate is democracy.”
The initiative kicked off in January in Maryland, drawing experts in national security, elected officials, as well as journalists and concerned members of the public. It continued to Ohio, California, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arkansas, Virginia, Louisiana, Wyoming, Iowa, South Carolina, Delaware, Montana, Utah, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Kansas, Idaho, Vermont, North Dakota, Nebraska, Washington, Maine, Oregon, Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Mexico, North Carolina, New Jersey, Texas, Alaska, Tennessee, Michigan, New York, Indiana, Minnesota, Arizona and now West Virginia.
“In advance of the 2020 election, we are committed to enhancing election security for voters, campaigns and journalists alike,” said Kristie Canegallo, vice president of Google’s Trust and Safety team. “We’re proud to support USC’s Election Security and Information Project to provide comprehensive training to candidates, campaigns, academics, elected officials, and NGOs to help them prepare for security challenges before the 2020 election.”
WHAT: USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative. The topics covered include cyber safety, disinformation and misinformation, and crisis communication.
WHO: Experts speaking include:
- Mac Warner, West Virginia Secretary of State
- Maryanne Reed, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, West Virginia University
- Shelley Moore Capito, United States Senator, West Virginia
- David Tackett, Chief Information Officer and Director, Information Technology Division, West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office
- Bob Britten, Associate professor, Reed College of Media, West Virginia University
- Chuck Flannery, Deputy Secretary and Chief of Staff, West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office
- Elaine Harris, International Staff Representative, Communications Workers of America; National Committeewoman, West Virginia Democratic Party
- Clifford Neuman, Director, USC Center for Computer Systems Security; Senior Project Leader, USC Information Sciences Institute; and Associate Research Professor of Computer Science, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
- Dave Quast, Crisis Communications and Public Affairs Consultant; Adjunct Faculty, USC Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism
- Sarah Mojarad, Lecturer, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
- Adam Clayton Powell III, Executive Director, USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative, and former USC Vice Provost
- Justin Griffin, Managing Director, USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative, and veteran of corporate reputation and political campaigns
WHERE: Zoom Event. You will receive credentials upon registration.
WHEN: Thursday, October 1, 2020 1:30 – 3:45 PM Eastern Time
REGISTRATION: To attend, register here: https://uscwv.eventbrite.com
MORE INFORMATION: The initiative is led by the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, established by University Professor Geoffrey Cowan, who is the principal investigator for the USC Elections Cybersecurity Initiative. For more background on CCLP, please visit its website.