Interns work on election cybersecurity; two from VCU are stationed in Henry County | Local News

The program is headed by a coalition of universities, the Virginia Department of Elections and industries that will work together to assess, improve and maintain the cybersecurity of local registrar offices while simultaneously educating students.

“I think this is an awesome opportunity for both the interns and Henry County to engage in a partnership that will ensure our county is providing the necessary security for elections,” Henry County Registrar Dawn Stultz-Vaughn said.

Each participating university holds a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education designation. Both interns who will be working with Henry County attend Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

“I am a rising [senior] at VCU and I applied to VA-CNIP in hopes of learning more about election security and to gain more general experience with cybersecurity,” said Nixy Camacho, an intern assigned to Henry County. “I believe election security is a big issue that should be improved on and it is a system which is critical to have trust in.”

Steven Cherian, the second intern for Henry County, said he hopes the program will be beneficial as he looks to enter an accelerated master’s degree program next year at VCU for computer science.

“I think knowing about the events that have occurred in recent elections made me understand that cybersecurity, specifically in elections, is very critical,” Cherian said. “I think getting hands-on knowledge and experience working with the team, along with building solid relationships with them, really excites me the most.”

The interns will participate in a number of activities throughout the summer, including: risk assessment of registrar information systems; analysis of system and network documentation for accuracy; guidance and assistance regarding software patches; systems updates; help configuring and deploying appropriate security software; ensuring compliance with best practices in securing systems; and helping share relevant information with other registrars.