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As the November midterms draw closer, election officials are gearing up to prepare for a successful election. And ensuring that their offices have robust cybersecurity measures in place is a big part of that preparation. One new program has emerged in Virginia to facilitate that process. The Virginia Cyber Navigator Internship Program (VA-CNIP for short) is a collaboration between local universities and the Virginia Department of Elections. Over the course of the summer, university students have had the opportunity to assess, improve, and maintain cybersecurity systems at their local Registrar offices. Election departments are gaining valuable and affordable support, while students gain real-world experience, so it’s a win-win for everyone involved. We checked in with Henry County—one of the jurisdictions that participated in the program—to learn more about their experience.

Henry County’s Dedicated Staff

Henry County, Virginia—not to be confused with the 9 other Henry Counties in the U.S.—is named after Founding Father Patrick Henry, who famously declared, “Give me liberty or give me death!” It’s located in southern Virginia, about an hour north of Greensboro, North Carolina. There, Henry County’s residents can easily access both the peace of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the thrill of NASCAR racing.

Dawn Stultz-Vaughn has been the Registrar of Henry County since February 2021, stepping up after the previous Registrar served for 45 years. “Our office is a dedicated staff of people who support democracy and the right to vote,” she says. That dedicated staff includes Dr. Christian Youngblood, who has served as Henry County’s Director of Information Services for over 12 years.

Christian says he first heard about the VA-CNIP cybersecurity internship program through VaLGITE, a statewide local government IT association. VaLGITE has collaborated with the Virginia Department of Elections to determine a set of minimum security standards, and encouraged members to apply for the internship program. “After doing some assessments on our own network to gauge its strengths and weaknesses, Henry County decided to submit an application and we were selected,” says Christian.

Working with the Cybersecurity Interns

Henry County was soon paired up with two interns from Virginia Commonwealth University—Nixy Camacho, a rising senior, and Steven Cherian, a computer science graduate student. Both were eager to learn more about election cybersecurity and gain real-world experience. “I think getting hands-on knowledge and experience working with the team, along with building solid relationships with them, really excites me the most,” said Steven at the start of the program.

In preparation for working with election offices, Nixy, Steven, and their fellow VA-CNIP interns took a “Cybersecurity and Elections” course during the spring 2022 semester at their respective universities. According to the program website, the course taught the interns “foundational skills for identifying and securing vulnerabilities in software systems used to support elections.” And in June, the interns gathered in Charlottesville for a “boot camp” to receive additional training to ensure they were ready to work with local election departments.

On the first day of their internship, Nixy and Steven were greeted by Dawn and other departmental staff for a kick-off celebration. They were introduced to equipment and technology used in the voting process, as well as legal and procedural matters. Christian says after that initial kick-off, coordinating with the interns was a seamless process. Apart from a few days in the elections office, they spent the majority of the program working remotely. Each week, Henry County staff and the interns met for at least one live video session to discuss topics of interest, answer questions, and share feedback. They also exchanged weekly summary emails to stay in sync. “I expected that working virtually would be an issue,” says Christian. “However, our participants have taken a great initiative to ask questions and provide updates as requested. Both of our interns have been very diligent about working independently, requiring very little oversight.”

Advantages for Interns and Election Departments

The benefits that the interns gained through the program are clear. Over the course of the summer, Nixy and Steven were exposed to many facets of the election process. “They have gained knowledge of local government policies and been given the chance to work with individuals dedicated to both elections and information technology,” reflects Christian. And Henry County benefitted from the additional capacity. “We hope to have improved our cybersecurity posture in all things elections-related,” says Christian. “Of specific interest, we worked on risk analysis, security policy, and contingency planning to ensure Henry County continues to provide a true democratic election.”

One of the most exciting parts of the program is the ability to share learnings across election departments. “The interns participated in weekly meetings with all other interns across the state to share summary information of what each locality was working on,” says Dawn. “In doing so, they gained insight into potential concerns brought up by other localities and their Registrars.” Earlier this month, the VA-CNIP interns gathered in Charlottesville once again to debrief their experience upon completion of the program. Interns from 17 participating counties gave short presentations on their successes and challenges. This event will not only help make the internship program even better in future years, but also allows election departments to gain insights into cybersecurity practices that are working well for their colleagues throughout Virginia.

Advancing Your Cybersecurity and Internship Programs

If you would like to improve your election department’s cybersecurity systems, our new free training is a great place to start. The self-paced course will help participants use the Cybersecurity Framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It’s designed to be usable by both election officials and IT professionals, allowing election departments to mitigate threats and vulnerabilities.

And if you’re ready to take on a cybersecurity intern, Dawn emphasizes the importance of communication and collaboration. “Get all of your stakeholders to agree on project deliverables and then get them excited about the opportunity,” she recommends. “The elections department will likely have blind spots in their technology needs and the IT group will probably be unfamiliar with many of the Registrar’s duties and responsibilities. Success will be greater if everyone works together.”

While bringing on interns is a great way to advance your office’s cybersecurity program, interns can also support your election office with a number of other tasks. For instance, in Douglas County, Colorado and Indian River County, Florida, interns help with administrative tasks, managing and updating voter records, testing voting equipment, conducting voter education, and much more. And who knows? You just might be helping to mentor a future local election official!