CISA lines up new leader of election security efforts

The head of the Homeland Security Department’s efforts to guard U.S. elections against domestic and foreign interference will step down next month after nearly two years in the role.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced on Friday that Kim Wyman, who challenged Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud when she served as Washington’s secretary of state, will leave the organization at the end of July “for an opportunity in the private sector.”

Cait Conley, a senior adviser to CISA Director Jen Easterly, will assume “additional responsibilities,” including supervising election security and protecting voters from disinformation campaigns. Conley will also act as the agency’s chief liaison to state and local officials.

Easterly tweeted that Wyman, who joined the agency in October 2021, will remain as an “informal advisor” to her.

Conley, an Army veteran, formerly served as the executive director of the Defending Digital Democracy Project at Harvard University’s Belfer Center.

There she “led the development and implementation of strategies, tools and recommendations for election administrators, election infrastructure providers, campaign organizations and leaders involved in democratic processes to better defend against cybersecurity threats,” according to CISA.

She also was a staffer on President Joe Biden’s National Security Council.

“Cait will be a great partner to election officials as they prepare for 2024,” Wyman tweeted.

“A big announcement is coming in a few weeks, as soon as the contract is finalized! Stay tuned.”