Overview
- The 13-page plan, released Thursday, Sept. 24, lists free services available to jurisdictions on request, including on-site penetration testing, vulnerability scanning and tabletop exercises.
- Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin publicly pledged that the administration will implement the plan in full.
- The plan arrives late in the election calendar after reporting that the agency lost about 1,000 staff and saw roughly $10 million cut from related programs, which officials say reduced CISA's election support last year.
- State and local election officials told reporters that some CISA services were not available earlier in the year and that some jurisdictions hired private vendors to perform tests and exercises.
- Uptake and on-the-ground coverage will depend on whether jurisdictions request help and on CISA's operational capacity, so observers should watch which states seek services and how quickly CISA can deploy teams before the November vote.