CISA “Most Secure Election” Declaration Contradicted by Simultaneous Classified Vulnerability Assessment (US)

On November 13, 2020, CISA Director Christopher Krebs issued a joint statement, signed by election security officials, declaring the November 3 election “the most secure in American history.” This statement was widely cited by congressional actors during the January 6, 2021, joint session to dismiss objections. Yet CISA’s own classified TLP-AMBER Election Infrastructure Cyber Risk Assessment – covering the 12 months preceding Election Day – documented 319 critical-severity vulnerabilities and 1,820 high-severity vulnerabilities in election infrastructure, with approximately 47% of entities with critical vulnerabilities experiencing active exploitation during 2020. The public declaration of security thus directly contradicted a simultaneous classified assessment of widespread critical exploitation – meaning that Congress’s dependence on this declaration as a basis for dismissing objections rested on a public statement that CISA’s own classified record renders factually unsupportable.