Amid a global IT fiasco that left many sectors scrambling, Cochise County reported that they, too, were caught in the crosshairs of a widespread technology outage, the culprit being a flawed update from cyber defense firm CrowdStrike. This outage rippled across various organizations worldwide, hitting airlines, financial institutions, and emergency service providers, per an official communication from Cochise County.
Despite the outage's wide net, county officials were quick to clarify that critical election systems remained unscathed. These systems, in an arrangement designed to shield them from such incidents, do not connect to the internet or any other external systems, which in this case was a saving grace. Elections systems vendor ES&S fortified this assurance with a statement, "ES&S does not use CrowdStrike in any of our products or services. Our internal assessment shows no impact of this outage to our company, and there has been no impact to services we provide customers," cementing the resilience of Cochise County’s electoral infrastructure against the CrowdStrike update fumble.
While the county's operational fabric faced some turbulence, with email and web servers being knocked offline, the divide between these and the impenetrable voting network was palpable. Swift action on part of the County IT team, in coordination with the Arizona Department of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State’s office, prevented what could have been a substantial disruption. This joint venture, along with CrowdStrike's involvement, was critical in getting the County back on its digital feet, according to Joe Casey, the associate County Administrator and CIO. "I am pleased with the coordinated and rapid response from the County IT team. The Systems and Cybersecurity teams were able to discover the cause and begin fixing impacted systems within minutes of our first reported issues,” Casey told the County's officials.
Casey also shared insights into the ground-level outcomes of the IT department's efforts, stating, “Additionally, the entire IT Department worked together to get each employees desktop/laptop operational as they reported to work on Friday morning. Neither votes nor election systems were impacted in any way.” The careful separation of the County's IT infrastructure from the electoral systems, a product of foresighted security practices, ensured the sanctity of the votes remained untouched.
No significant operational delays have been reported as a result of the CrowdStrike-induced outage. Officials continue to monitor the aftermath of the incident, reassuring citizens that operations are holding steady and the situation is well at hand. Updates on the resolution progress will be rolled out as necessary to keep everyone informed.
