CHENANGO COUNTY – Hoping to thwart the same kind of interference that affected national elections in 2016, the Chenango County Board of Elections is responding to a state order to beef up its cyber security.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last week a plan with the NYS Board of Elections to enhance security of the state’s elections infrastructure and protect against interference. The plan calls for $5 million in the 2019 state budget to boost cyber security and includes a risk assessment for county board of elections, intrusion detection devices that monitor network traffic, and managed security services that will help protect against hackers.

New York’s secure election center, managed by the state board of elections, will also provide statewide cyber security training to state and county elections officials and staff ahead of the midterm elections.

It’s a move welcomed to safeguard the validity of upcoming elections, according to officials at the Chenango County Board of Elections. The department is now working with its IT department to assess and implement any necessary changes.

“This is something that we’re taking very seriously,” said Chenango County Republican Party Commissioner Mary Lou Monahan. “Steps are being take to make sure that, if there are any attempts of hacking, we’re being proactive instead of reactive.”