MEDIA ADVISORY: New York Election Cybersecurity Workshop Thursday
On Thursday, September 17, 2020, the USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative will host a free online New York 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 New York. 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 and now New York.
“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.”
“We’re excited to bring our digital workshop to New York and feature prominent experts in election cybersecurity, and specifically crisis management. We’ll hear from former White House Press Secretary and New Yorker, Ari Fleischer, on the importance of being prepared for and navigating through worst case scenarios on the cyber front and beyond,” said Justin Griffin, the initiative’s Managing Director.
WHAT: USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative. The topics covered include cyber safety, disinformation and misinformation, and crisis communication.
WHO: Experts speaking include:
- Jeffrey Baez, Chief Information Security Officer, New York State Board of Elections
- Brian Nussbaum, Assistant Professor, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, University at Albany
- Deborah Snyder, Cyber Strategist and Adjunct Professor, The State University of New York at Albany; Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government
- Sally Buzbee, Chief News Officer and Executive Editor, The Associated Press
- Jeff Jarvis, Director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism; The Leonard Tow Professor of Journalism Innovation, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York
- Mosheh Oinounou, Founder, Mo Digital; Former Executive Producer, CBS Evening News
- Alex Bores, Co-founder and President, Foresight2020
- 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
- Tom Lange, Advisory Board Member, USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations
- 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, September 17, 2020 1:30 – 3:45 PM Eastern Time
REGISTRATION: To attend, register here: https://uscNewYork.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.