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Massimiliano Albanese

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Secure elections are the cornerstone of democracy, and the Virginia Cyber Navigator Internship Program (VA-CNIP) has equipped students with the skills to strengthen the cybersecurity posture of election infrastructures. As an intern last summer, information technology (IT) major Duong Thuy Nguyen helped secure a rural county's technology for the upcoming presidential election alongside two George Mason University peers.

Sponsored by the National Security Agency (NSA) and run by the University of Virginia (UVA) and other five Virginia universities including George Mason, VA-CNIP was developed to address the need for improved election security in localities that may not have the resources to implement necessary cybersecurity measures.

Nguyen, who is pursuing a dual concentration in database technology and programming and cyber security, traveled to Campbell County for a few days each week over the summer to support the county's dedicated and hard-working IT staff in complying with the Locality Election Security Standards (LESS) required by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The LESS requirements are designed to ensure that all localities, regardless of size, have baseline cybersecurity measures in place, with further goals to achieve "preferred" or "premium" levels of security. The program thus not only prepared students for future careers but also left a lasting impact on the local governments they serve.

From left to right, Albanese, Hicks, and Nguyen with two other VA-CNIP interns. Photo provided.

George Mason Associate Professor Max Albanese helped lead VA-CNIP, designing a course in election security that was a prerequisite for all interns. In addition to the course, a two-day boot camp at UVA provided interns with training, including hands-on activities and talks from high profile industry experts and election officials. This year United States Election Assistance Commissioner Thomas Hicks spoke at the boot camp.

"Especially this year, the focus was on trying to send interns to localities that were in most need of upgrading their security posture," said Albanese, "and that means the more rural or less technologically advanced counties."

Each week, students worked remotely for part of their assignments but also traveled to their assigned localities for on-site work. Due to the often-rural nature of the counties involved, VA-CNIP provided a $3,000 travel allowance to each intern in addition to their $9,000 stipend. This allowed students to travel long distances and, when necessary, stay overnight in nearby towns to avoid lengthy commutes. The George Mason interns this year traveled about four hours one way to reach Campbell County.

Nguyen in Campbell County. Photo provided.

Nguyen noted how rewarding it was to work in-person with the local IT department. Her tasks included developing security policies, conducting research on cybersecurity tools, and even designing tabletop exercises to prepare local officials for possible cyber incidents on election day. Nguyen raved about her internship, which was her first. Even though she had to travel a lot, she said, she would not change her experience.

"They were all very welcoming, and they gave us all the support that we needed," she said.

VA-CNIP exemplifies the power of academia, government, and students working together to tackle one of the most pressing challenges of our time-ensuring the security and integrity of democratic processes. While funding for VA-CNIP ends this year, there are ongoing discussions about sustaining the program going forward.