MEDIA ADVISORY: Tennessee Election Cybersecurity Workshop Thursday
On Thursday, September 10, 2020, the USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative will host a free online Tennessee 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 Tennessee. 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 and now Tennessee.
“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’ll be joined by the state’s highest ranking official on election security, Secretary of State Tre Hargett. Additionally, we’ll have representation from both sides of the political aisle, featuring the Chairman of the Tennessee GOP, Scott Golden, and Gale Jones Carson, Vice President of the Memphis NAACP and Tennessee DNC Member. We’ll also feature private YouTube’s Strategic Partner Manager, Coco Pannell,” 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:
- Tre Hargett, Tennessee Secretary of State
- Gale Jones Carson, Vice President, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – Memphis
- Scott Golden, Chairman, Tennessee Republican Party
- Hendrell Remus, State Executive Committeeman, Tennessee Democratic Party
- Ken Paulson, Director, Free Speech Center; Professor, Recording Industry Department, Middle Tennessee State University
- Mary A. Evins, Research Professor; Coordinator, American Democracy Project, Middle Tennessee State University
- David Plazas, Director of Opinion and Engagement, The Tennessean; State Reporter, Memphis Commercial Appeal; Reporter, Knoxville News Sentinel
- Coco Pannell, Strategic Partner Manager, YouTube
- 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 10, 2020 1:30 – 3:45 PM Central Time
REGISTRATION: To attend, register here: http://bit.ly/ucsTN-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.