CHARLESTON, W.Va. –
With the 2018 midterm elections in the rearview mirror, West Virginia National Guard and state leadership agree the innovative partnerships, policy and planning growing around cyber security in the state are successful.
For the 2018 general election, WVNG cyber security Soldiers and Airmen once again augmented the West Virginia Office of Technology (WVOT), specifically the Cyber Security Section, facilitating vulnerability testing on elections systems prior to the 2018 midterm primary elections and monitoring networks for nefarious activity.
This advanced partnership is the first instance in the country to imbed a National Guard member in the elections arena as a cyber-expert and WVNG Director of Communications Ltc. Col. Jody Ogle points to the strong relationship between the Guard and the offices of the West Virginia Secretary of State and WVOT for the resourceful use of funding and knowledge.
Sec. of State Mac Warner is a retired Army officer and brother of a retired WVNG Army officer, and the newly-appointed state Chief Technology Officer Josh Spence (previously chief information security officer) is the only National Guard member in the country also serving in that capacity.
“Security assessments coming out of West Virginia's 2016 elections demanded West Virginia take action to shore up our posture of election systems, most notably cyber protections,” said Sec. of State Mac Warner. Pre-2016 election, then-Sec. Of State Natalie Tennant approached the Guard on Spence’s recommendation and, using no additional state funding, the Guard was able to conduct an initial vulnerability assessment with recommendations.
“Security assessments coming out of West Virginia's 2016 elections demanded West Virginia take action to shore up our posture of election systems, most notably cyber protections,” said Warner.
The WVOT and Warner’s office has made significant strides in security in the two years he held the office, according to Ogle. In late 2017, the WVSOS and WVNG jointly engaged a full-time Guard member with Top Secret clearance to monitor state-level cyber activity and give recommendations on WVSOS security efforts.
The West Virginia model is now being examined and replicated for a best practice across the United States election security ecosystem.
Ogle, Spence, West Virginia Air National Guard Director of Maintenance Col. Patrick Chard and the Airman working for the WVOT (unnamed due to security) were brought on in early 2018 by the U.S. Cyber Command, specifically Joint Force Headquarters – Department of Defense Information Network (JFHQ-DODIN), and National Guard Bureau J36 to write the first Concept of Operations for use of National Guard forces to support states domestic operations.
“WVNG was the first to be given Secretary of Defense Approval for the employment of security clearance in state active duty capacity,” said Ogle. While this approval was not used during the election mission, Ogle said it is that out-of-the-box planning that situates the WVNG in leading the country's National Guard cyber security initiatives.
“The training of Airmen and Soldiers in cybersecurity is imperative to prepare for America's next defense strategies in the new combat arena of cyber warfare,” said Warner.