Hacking into federal voting systems within the US will soon become a federal criminal offense, according to the Defending the Integrity of the Voting Systems Act. The Act was unanimously approved by the US House of Representatives last week after passing through the Senate last year. This legislation will declare hacking federal voting infrastructure a federal crime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Lindsey Graham last year.
The legislation now awaits the President’s signature to be turned into a law. The passage through the House last week comes amid US Presidential elections looming in the near future. Early voting began on September 18 in four states, whereas mail-in ballots and other methods of voting will continue to be used over the next several weeks. Blumenthal stated that foreign adversaries have shown that they are capable of hacking the voting infrastructure that powers US democracy, however, law enforcement is far behind this threat. Blumenthal also said that the bill must quickly become law so that every vote in the 2020 elections counts.
Read More: Hacking Voting Systems to Be a Federal Crime in US
