S. 1500

Strengthening Election Cybersecurity to Uphold Respect for Elections through Independent Testing Act or the SECURE IT Act

This bill requires certain actions to strengthen the security of U.S. voting systems.

Specifically, the bill requires the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to conduct penetration testing (an evaluation method that enables researchers to search for vulnerabilities in a system) as part of the testing, certification, decertification, and recertification of voting system hardware and software by accredited laboratories.

Further, the National Institute of Standards and Technology must recommend entities to the EAC to carry out this penetration testing and the EAC must vote on the accreditation of any recommended entity.

The bill also directs the EAC to create a five-year pilot program for participating cybersecurity researchers to test for and disclose cybersecurity vulnerabilities in election systems.