RUSSIA TODAY, CYBERTERRORISTS TOMORROW: U.S. FAILURE TO PREP ARE DEMOCRACY FOR CYBERSPACE

This paper is designed to expose vulnerabilities within the US electoral system, the use of cyberspace to exploit weaknesses within the information assurance strategies of the democratic and republican party organizations, and deficiencies within the social media communications and voting machine exploits. A brief history of discriminatory practices in voting rights and voting access will be set as the foundation for the argument that the system is vulnerable in the cyber age, and the need for reform at the local, state and national levels will be emphasized. The possibility of a foreign nation-state influencing the outcome of an election by using cyber warfare tactics should give us pause as this opens the US democracy to terrorist organizations who have the means to disrupt a US election via cyber-attack.