MEDIA ADVISORY: California Election Cybersecurity Workshop Tuesday
On Tuesday, October 13, 2020, the USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative will host a free online Hawaii 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
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, California Republican Party Chair Jessica Patterson and other experts will lead discussions on election cybersecurity on Tuesday afternoon with state and local officials and campaign representatives to help improve election cybersecurity in California. 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 have visited all 50 states, both in person and virtually, 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. Tuesday’s program follows USC election cybersecurity workshops in all 50 states. This will be the second program for California.
“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:
- Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State
- Freddie Quintana, Chief of Staff, Senate Majority Leader Robert M. Hertzberg
- Jessica Patterson, Chairwoman, California Republican Party
- Bob Shrum, Director, USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future; Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
- Franita Tolson,Vice Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs, and Professor of Law, USC Gould School of Law
- David Vorhaus, Global Elections Integrity Lead, Google
- Norman Pearlstine, Executive Editor, Los Angeles Times
- John Myers, Sacramento Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times
- Chandran Sankaran, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Repustar
- Geoffrey Cowan, Principal Investigator, USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative
- 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
WHERE: Zoom Event. You will receive credentials upon registration.
WHEN: Tuesday, October 13, 2020 1:30 – 3:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time
REGISTRATION: To attend, register here: https://usceci.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.