New Jersey Secretary of State and Election Officials Attend Training Exercise for Cyber-Attack Prevention

TRENTON, N.J. – On Friday, March 23, Secretary of State Tahesha Way led a delegation from New Jersey to a dress rehearsal of a table-top training exercise for prevention of cyber-attacks and information operations at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. As part of the school’s bipartisan initiative, the “Defending Digital Democracy” (D3P) Project, this nation-wide D3P Election Cybersecurity TTX Training Event trains officials on cybersecurity measures for participants to bring back to their prospective states for implementation.

“As the state’s chief election official, the opportunity to receive this vital training with a team of committed election officials further displays New Jersey’s active participation and strong commitment to election security,” said New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way. “We will continue to work vigilantly with all election officials to strengthen the security of elections here in New Jersey.”

The Secretary of State was joined by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, County Election Officials, representatives from the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, and the Division of Election’s Executive Director.

“This hands-on training session has been an extremely valuable learning experience for me and the New Jersey team,” added Division of Elections Executive Director Robert Giles. “As we begin to implement these exercises with our election officials throughout the state, this collaboration is another excellent example of the partnership between the Department of State’s Division of Elections and our qualified election county officials, continuing our commitment to protect New Jersey against cybersecurity attacks.”