Most Americans were already taking off for the holidays when there was a nice bi-partisan surprise from Congress linked to cybersecurity.
A group of Democratic and Republican Senators came together to introduce the "Secure Elections Act" which would fast-track changes in state election systems ahead of mid-term elections happening in 2018.
And elections officials across the country are coming out in support of the act.
"When we had instances last year all over the country related to people trying to get into other peoples’ data and voter files – why are we waiting for something bad to happen to start doing something about it?” Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan told The Hill.
Here are some of the things it will do:
The Center for Democracy & Technology also supports the effort: "In the wake of the 2016 election cycle, election officials are on the front lines of cybersecurity, protecting their systems and our votes from nation-state attacks. These heroic public servants should not be left in the dark. They need the best advice and dedicated resources in order to adequately defend our democracy,” said Joseph Lorenzo Hall, CDT Chief Technologist and Director of the Internet Architecture Project.
SecureWorld will be tracking the developments this year.