This Afternoon the USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative will host a free online South Dakota workshop, offering resources to campaigns, election workers, elected officials, academics, media and concerned citizens to reinforce election cybersecurity measures.

Contact: Tiffany Shackelford (703) 470-2996 or tshackel@usc.edu; Emily Gersema, (213) 740-6973 or gersema@usc.edu; or Ted Kissell, (714) 316-8808 or tkissell@usc.edu

Experts on Thursday afternoon will lead discussions on election cybersecurity with state and local officials and campaign representatives to help improve election cybersecurity in South Dakota. Topics will include cyber safety, disinformation and misinformation, and crisis communications.

The USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative, supported by a generous gift from Google, is an independent, bipartisan effort to strengthen election cybersecurity through workshops held for each of the 50 states.

“We are going to all 50 states, in person when possible or virtually when we cannot, to make certain information about best practices is available to everyone, but especially for those in campaigns and elections,” said Adam Clayton Powell III, executive director of the project. “We are a national campaign, and our candidate is democracy.”

The initiative kicked off in January in Maryland, drawing experts in national security, elected officials, as well as journalists and concerned members of the public. It continued to Ohio, California, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arkansas, Virginia, Louisiana, Wyoming, Iowa, South Carolina, Delaware, Montana, Utah, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma Connecticut, Kansas, Idaho, Vermont, North Dakota, Nebraska, Washington, Maine, Oregon, Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin and now South Dakota.

“In advance of the 2020 election, we are committed to enhancing election security for voters, campaigns and journalists alike,” said Kristie Canegallo, vice president of Google’s Trust and Safety team. “We’re proud to support USC’s Election Security and Information Project to provide comprehensive training to candidates, campaigns, academics, elected officials, and NGOs to help them prepare for security challenges before the 2020 election.”

“South Dakota is the 34th state on our 50 state tour, and we’re looking forward to hearing from experts on both sides of aisle, including Senior Advisor to Senator John Thune, Jon Lauck, State Senator, Red Dawn Foster, and Vice Chair of the Democratic Party, Nikki Gronli,” said Justin Griffin, the initiative’s Managing Director.

WHAT: USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative. The topics covered include cyber safety, disinformation and misinformation, and crisis communication.

WHO: Experts speaking include:

• Steve Barnett, Secretary of State, South Dakota
• Jon K. Lauck, Senior Advisor, Senator John Thune
• Jonathan Ellis, Reporter, Argus Leader
• Red Dawn Foster, State Senator (D-27th District)
• Nikki Gronli, Vice Chair, South Dakota Democratic Party
• Clifford Neuman, Director, USC Center for Computer Systems Security; Senior Project Leader, USC Information Sciences Institute; and Associate Research Professor of Computer Science, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
• Tom Lange, Advisory Board Member, USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations
• Sarah Mojarad, Lecturer, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
• Adam Clayton Powell III, Executive Director, USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative, and former USC Vice Provost
• Justin Griffin, Managing Director, USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative, and veteran of corporate reputation and political campaigns