Report: 2018 Midterm Elections May Be Left Wide Open to Hacking

As the federal government struggles to safeguard state voting systems from hackers in the run-up to 2018 midterm elections, the Department of Homeland Security admits that some are facing a nine-month wait for what’s considered to be the most extensive—and necessary—security screening, Politico reports. As a result, some states election systems are in danger of missing the critical service before the November elections and local officials may not be aware of their vulnerabilities, including to foreign intelligence agencies or homegrown cyberattacks—until it’s too late. DHS has said that Russian hackers targeted some election systems in at least 21 states in 2016. DHS officials concede that the nine-month wait is “not a good metric.”