JULY 24, 2024, WASHINGTON – With the 2024 election only a few months away, Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC), a nonprofit, non-partisan and non-aligned C4 organization that provides free or low-cost cybersecurity resources to political campaigns, yesterday hosted with Google the Campaign Security Summit: Protecting High-Risk Users in Chicago. Michael Kaiser, president and CEO of Defending Digital Campaigns, provided opening remarks, and George P. Bush, managing partner at Pine Cove Capital, LLC, spoke on a panel. The event is part of the Campaign Security Project in which Google and DDC are hosting a series of regional summits for high-risk election-related stakeholders.

“In this critical election year, trust in the digital integrity of political campaigns both nationwide and at the state level is more important than ever,” said Kaiser. “This summit represents a convening of state officials and cybersecurity experts leading the cause in providing political campaigns both federally and within Illinois with the essential knowledge and tools required to combat cyber threats. Panelists in attendance will share insights into the current threat landscape in the state as well as throughout the country, sharing data on bad actors and ways to combat disorder with best practices.”

Building off of several successful co-branded cybersecurity activations, this summit series convened a wide range of leaders in technology and democracy, including Google and Yubico executives, AI and cybersecurity experts and Illinois state elected officials. The summit highlighted today’s threat landscape, such as the latest technology and tools available to the state’s political campaigns as well as realistic measures to secure critical campaign staff against imminent cyber threats.

“Google remains committed to equipping high-risk users, including campaigns and elected officials, with best-in-class security tools and technology to protect them from the unique threats they face online,” said Laurie Richardson, VP trust & safety at Google. “We are proud to partner with expert organizations like the DDC to directly connect with this audience to conduct training, provide free tools and set them up with additional layers of account security, which is critical in the context of safeguarding elections.” 

Below is a list of the event’s featured speakers and panels.

• Featured Speakers: 

• George P. Bush, managing partner, Pine Cove Capital, LLC

• Michael Kaiser, president and CEO, Defending Digital Campaigns 

• Rodell Molineau, Co-Founder and Partner, ROKK Solutions

• Dave Bledin, senior director of strategic preparedness and response, Google

• Grace Hoyt, global product partnerships lead, Google

• Seth Blank, chief technology officer, Valimail 

• Mary Mangione, associate director of global communications, Yubico

• Featured Panels:

• Artificial Intelligence and Elections

• The High-Stakes Election Landscape: Strategy and Security in the Final Stretch

• Threats vs Practicality: Realistic Solutions for Securing Campaigns

For more information, please contact:

Christina Gillham
Thatcher+Co.
Email: cgilllham@thatcherandco.com  

About Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC):
DDC is a nonprofit C4, nonpartisan and non-aligned organization providing access to free cybersecurity products, services and information. DDC's founding members and board include the former presidential campaign managers for Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney, as well as former senior officials at the NSA and DHS, and the tech industry. DDC works with the world's leading technology vendors to make their services available directly to campaigns in addition to providing education for campaign professionals. DDC was granted special permission by the Federal Election Commission to operate under this model, providing all campaigns — regardless of party — with the support they need within the limits of campaign finance law. For more information about DDC and its work, visit https://defendcampaigns.org/