Cyber Florida's FirstLine state training program, in partnership with the Florida International University Jack D. Gordon Institute, hosted a highly successful election security tabletop exercise in Doral, Florida, last week. The event drew an impressive crowd of over 80 participants, underscoring the importance of collaboration in safeguarding our electoral processes.
The security exercise utilized the Norwich University Applied Research Institutes' (NUARI) DECIDE® Platform, a cutting-edge tool designed to facilitate interactive scenario-based discussions and simulations. The DECIDE® Platform enabled participants to engage in a realistic and immersive exercise and encouraged a deeper understanding of the complex challenges and threats associated with election security.
The tabletop exercise was facilitated by Joe Minicucci, Director of Exercises at NUARI, who brought extensive expertise to the event. According to Minicucci:
"The DECIDE® Platform's interactive scenario-based approach enabled participants to confront and mitigate several election security threats in a realistic and immersive environment. This exercise fostered communications and coordination between multiple organizations while executing an incident response plan. I was proud to be a part of this effort to witness the commitment of these organizations to respond to the exercise scenario with the passion to maintain the public's confidence in the security and integrity of our election system.”
We thank Florida State Representative Jennifer Canady and Representative Daniel Alvarez, Sr., for their participation and support. Their involvement highlights the critical role that government leaders play in ensuring the integrity of our democratic institutions.
This event marks a significant step forward in our collective efforts to strengthen election security, and we look forward to continuing this critical work. The effective use of the DECIDE® Platform demonstrates the value of innovative technologies in enhancing our preparedness and response to emerging threats.