Army of 'Ethical Hackers' Defends Election Voting Systems Against Russia

The integrity of U.S. election systems has been a focal point of concern since foreign interference was uncovered in the 2016 presidential election.

Synack, a cyber security company founded by former members of the National Security Agency, has hired 1,600 ethical hackers to test the security of government institutions and corporations.

The company is also bolstering security at remote voting systems for the U.S. elections to prevent interference by bad actors from hostile states.

Synack tests its clients' security by attempting to penetrate their computer networks.

Bill Drexel, fellow for the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), told Newsweek: "These ethical hackers' efforts are highly valuable in verifying the strength of our elections systems, and, where necessary, strengthening them. Stress testing systems with ethical hackers is one of the best ways to shore up cybersecurity, not just in elections, but also more broadly.

"There is already clear evidence that adversaries including Russia, China, and Iran are seeking to meddle in our elections and sow uncertainty about their validity, so anything we can do to stop that from happening is a step in the right direction. It may sound counterintuitive that we would deliberately hack our own electoral systems, especially using non-governmental actors, but given that these hackers are highly vetted and hired by the relevant authorities, it makes a lot of sense."

Read the full story and more from Newsweek.