Jeh Johnson said the United States is "no less vulnerable to a cyberattack on election infrastructure than we were a year ago," the former Department of Homeland Security chief told Politico.
And that alone should be a catalyst for President Donald Trump to name a successor to Gen. John Kelly at DHS.
"We need to have a Senate-confirmed secretary of Homeland Security; we need to have somebody occupying that office full-time, 24/7, to keep his or her eye on aviation security, border security, cybersecurity, maritime security, FEMA, the Secret Service, and all the other things that DHS covers," Johnson told Politico.
Trump tapped Kelly to take over as White House chief of staff in late July, but reportedly has not even interviewed a candidate to replace him. However, Trump is reportedly happy with acting director Elaine Duke, whose service to DHS dates back to George W. Bush.
Saying that the "proof is beyond a reasonable doubt" that Russia interfered with the election, the U.S. has still not sufficiently addressed cybersecurity to ensure it doesn't happen again, Johnson told Politico.
"I'm afraid that we're no less vulnerable to a cyberattack on election infrastructure than we were a year ago," Johnson said. "One way or another, we need to make it a national imperative to harden the cybersecurity around our democratic processes."
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