In the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, concerns about hacking, transparency, and the influence of “fake news” on election outcomes garnered unprecedented coverage by news organizations. Both national and local media often reached out to U-M experts in cybersecurity, social media, and data analysis to provide perspective, interpret research, and explain the challenges of our current electoral system.
Some, like J. Alex Halderman, a computer science and engineering professor and director of the U-M Center for Computer Science and Security, have become media mainstays on the subject of election technical vulnerabilities and cybersecurity. Other U-M experts cited in election stories include: Matthew Bernhard, CSE PhD student and a security researcher; Thomas Finholt, dean of the School of Information; Nadiya Kostyuk, PhD student in political science and public policy; LSA professor Walter Mebane, an expert on detecting electoral fraud; Paul Resnick, SI professor and the founder and acting director of the Center for Social Media Responsibility; and Michael Traugott, research professor at the U-M Center for Political Studies.
Below are links to a sampling of stories that featured expert sources from the university:
- A look at the election security charges in Georgias governors race
- Ahead of important elections, U.S. voting system is still vulnerable to hacking
- A secure future for US elections starts in the classroom
- Q&A | Don’t kid yourself, U.S. enemies are trying to hack our elections
- Georgia Governor’s Race Roiled by Election Security Charges
- Washington Journal: J. Alex Halderman Discusses Election Systems & Vulnerabilities
- Unlike in 2016, there was no spike in misinformation this election cycle
- The Vulnerabilities of Our Voting Machines
- Should You Be Afraid of Election Hacking? Here’s What Experts Say
- The midterms are already hacked. You just don’t know it yet.
- Professors discuss election security, voting systems at panel
- Experts: Modem use makes Michigan elections vulnerable
- Researchers unveil tool to track disinformation on social media
- Why is it so hard to get an accurate vote count?
- Hackers are using malware to find vulnerabilities in U.S. swing states. Expect cyberattacks.
- How hackable are American voting machines? It depends who you ask
- Here’s how Russia may have already hacked the 2018 midterm elections
- U-M tool measures ‘iffy’ news on social media in time for 2018 election
- Judge weighs whether Georgia must switch to paper ballots
