Nicole Perlroth's SISA Involvement

Summary: After leaving the New York Times in 2021, Nicole Perlroth became an advisor for SISA, a cybersecurity agency created during the Trump administration. SISA's role is to advise counties and election officials on vulnerabilities, offer free system scans, and provide best practices, but lacks authority to enforce these recommendations.

Insights:

• Federal cybersecurity agencies often face resistance from local authorities who are wary of federal intervention in their systems.
• SISA plays an advisory role, lacking enforcement power, and must rely on voluntary cooperation from states and counties regarding election security.
• The US election security landscape presents a complex challenge with tensions between federal oversight and states' rights.

Proper Nouns:

• Nicole Perlroth: Author and former New York Times journalist, now advising SISA.
• New York Times: Newspaper where Perlroth worked before joining SISA.
• SISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency): US agency responsible for cybersecurity, particularly election security.
• Chris Krebs: Former SISA director fired by Trump for asserting the 2020 election was secure.
• Trump: Former US President.

Research

• What are the specific legal barriers preventing SISA from having more authority in election security?
• How do other countries handle the balance between federal and local control over election infrastructure security?
• What are the potential consequences of not addressing the vulnerabilities SISA identifies, and what are the best strategies for encouraging adoption of their recommendations?