CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- By order of Gov. Jared Polis, Soldiers and Airmen from Colorado National Guard cyber teams will provide timely, safe, responsive and proactive defensive cyber security support to the 2020 Colorado state elections in June and November.
Members of the Colorado Army National Guard’s Defense Cyber Operations Element and Cyber Protection Team, and the Colorado Air National Guard’s 140th Wing Communications Flight, will form Task Force Cyber to assist the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and Office of Information Technology in network monitoring during the elections to prevent cyber-attacks and enhance integration across state agencies.
“Our cyber warriors are highly trained and ready to assist our state partners to secure our election infrastructure,” The Adjutant General of Colorado U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Loh said. “This mission is also a great opportunity for our cyber response team members to improve their readiness in a real-world, cutting-edge training environment.”
For the past seven years, during seven state-wide elections, Colorado has led the way in the nation by providing Colorado National Guard Cyber Teams to work at the security operations center at the Secretary of State’s office to help monitor key systems for possible malicious activity.
National Guard cyber protection units are part of service-specific requirements to provide cyber capabilities.