Elections offices taking measures to prevent cyber interference

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Central Florida elections supervisors say they have taken necessary steps to protect ballots from getting into the hands of cybercriminals.

Orange and Osceola counties held a news conference to explain that Florida elections are secure. None of the tabulating systems connect to the internet and elections offices across the state are training staff to recognize cyberattacks.

Elections officials hold press conference ahead of 2020 elections.

“We’ve heeded the warning from 2016, Florida was the first state to have all of the counties use the Albert server, to monitor traffic coming in and out of our system, from that standpoint, we also have done penetration studies, we’ve built firewalls and changes, things we would not want to share,” said Bill Cowles, Orange County Supervisor of Elections.

Election officials also highlight that Florida uses paper rather than digital ballots, which provides more protection from interference.

Florida’s Presidential Primary is March 17.