Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

?? Report Out ?? White House Memos & Demos: An AI and Tech Talent Convening This morning, the OMB Office of Performance and Personnel Management/Federal Workforce Branch welcomed tech talent friends and partners to the White House, further strengthening partnerships across the ecosystem as we connect and drive progress on tech hiring in government and government-adjacent roles. A few key takeaways: - OMB/OPM joint Hiring Experience Memo, check it out here: https://lnkd.in/esqhZRBu - ONCD/OPM/OMB Service for America Campaign, check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eQG4gZFy - Presidential Innovation Fellows, app opening this week! https://lnkd.in/egzxCjhM - Presidential Managment Fellows, app now open! https://lnkd.in/e2qX9fhE I was honored to emcee the event this morning, as U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Acting Director Rob Shriver highlighted ongoing work at OPM to enhance skills based hiring and early career talent programs; Deputy National Cyber Director Harry Wingo talked about our joint Office of the National Cyber Director, The White House/OPM/OMB "Service for America" recruitment campaign in support of the National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy; and our own OMB Deputy Director for Management Jason Miller connected the dots between this tech talent work and the broader President's Management Agenda. We also heard candid conversation between Loren DeJonge Schulman and Jennifer Pahlka , author of Recoding America; and, a fantastic panel moderated by the "other iconic Jen," Jennifer Anastasoff of the Tech Talent Project [ https://lnkd.in/e5etM_jY ], featuring Elizabeth Kolmstetter (Chief People Officer at CISA), *the* Brian Whittaker (founder of Humans of Public Service [ https://lnkd.in/eiXSQdqa ] ), Merici Vinton (mover of mountains at IRS), and Raquel Romero (hiring DHS AI talent at lightning speed, to shape the DHS AI Corp). In addition to awesome speakers, we had reps from several partner organizations - like AnitaB.org , Technologists for Public Good, New America and PIT UN, Coding it Forward, Noble Reach Foundation, US Digital Response, and others I'm surely missing! I hope attendees and partner organizations found this event to be informative & inspiring, as we all look toward the future to get down to business... and to "get s[tuff] done"! Big special thanks and kudos to Angelica "Angie" Quirarte on the OMB PPM Federal Workforce Branch (and USDS!) team. She is the engine behind the scenes, strategically connecting *all* the dots. ????????????

Enjoyed being on CNN yesterday to talk election security. Key takeaways: 1. Hundreds of thousands of election workers across our nation serve on the frontlines of our democracy. They are our friends & neighbors—folks we see in our communities every day. They're not doing it for pay or glory but because they believe in what makes our nation great—free, fair, safe & secure elections. They deserve our support, respect & gratitude. AND they deserve to be safe. 2. Election infrastructure IS more secure than ever. Top reasons: -- The systems Americans use to vote are NOT connected to the internet. -- Over 97% of voters will cast ballots in jurisdictions that have PAPER records. -- Elections officials use multiple layers of safeguards to protect systems from compromise. These include testing systems prior to use to ensure accuracy; cybersecurity protections; physical access controls; and post-election audits. BUT! if you're skeptical, BE PART OF THE PROCESS. Be a poll worker: https://lnkd.in/ehZb_rqx. Talk to your election official; ask them questions. We know that our foreign adversaries are intent on interfering in our elections to undermine confidence in our democracy and sow partisan discord. We cannot let them. 3. Just like every other election cycle in history, things may go wrong. This is an event involving 100s of 1,000s of election workers, 10s of 1,000s of voting locations, and likely over 150 million Americans casting their vote. Incidents may happen: -- A tree could fall on a power line, knocking out power to a polling place -- The website for a county's election night reporting could crash because it is overwhelmed by high viewer traffic -- Someone could unplug election equipment at a polling place to plug in a crock-pot for lunch These things may happen and that’s OK because these kinds of disruptions are just part of running elections—it’s all in a day’s work for an election official. These officials are professional risk managers who train and prepare year-round for these types of disruptions.?And while these incidents may be disruptive—they do not impact the security of votes being cast or counted as cast. But our foreign adversaries may attempt to mislead Americans into believing otherwise—and, again, we cannot let them. 4. Over the next few months, Americans are going to hear a lot of different things from a lot of different sources. They key is to recognize the signal through the noise. And when it comes to elections, the signal you can trust comes from your state and local election officials—the ones charged with administering, securing, and managing the elections process. More info here: https://lnkd.in/gi_-i2Na For nearly 250 years, American election officials have overcome threats and disruptions to deliver free, fair, safe, and secure elections for the American people. 2024 will continue that proud tradition. But it will take all of us to protect and preserve our democracy.