MEDIA ADVISORY: North Carolina Election Cybersecurity Workshop Tuesday
On Tuesday, August, 11, 2020, the USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative will host a free online North Carolina 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 Tuesday afternoon will lead discussions on election cybersecurity with state and local officials and campaign representatives to help improve election cybersecurity in North Carolina. 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 and now North Carolina.
“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.”
“Election security and cybersecurity are more intertwined than ever, and we look forward to hearing from experts in North Carolina to hear what they are doing to help defend democracy leading up to the 2020 elections,” 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:
- Karen Brinson Bell, Executive Director, North Carolina State Board of Elections
- Deanna Ballard, State Senator, North Carolina
- Jason Saine, State Representative, North Carolina
- Ferrel Guillory, Director, Program on Public Life; Professor of the Practice, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Philip R. Thomas, Political Director and Chief Counsel, North Carolina Republican Party
- Jordan Wilkie, Elections Reporter, Carolina Public Press and Report for America
- Steve Harrison, Political Reporter, WFAE
- Russell Peck, Principal, Oaklee Strategies
- 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: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 1:30 – 3:30 PM Eastern Time
REGISTRATION: To attend, register here: https://bit.ly/uscnc-workshop-mediaadvisory
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.