美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯（Pete Hegseth）下令美国国家安全局（NSA）及军方网络部队协助保障11月的中期选举安全。这一举措再次引发了人们对选举安全保障措施的质疑——此前，美国负责民用网络安全的机构曾遭到削减。
Pete Hegseth has ordered the NSA and military cyber forces to help secure the November midterm elections. The move has revived questions over election safeguards after cuts to the civilian cybersecurity agency.
赫格塞斯在周一表示，美国国家安全局及其他军事情报和网络部队将在11月的中期选举期间协助保护选举系统。他在9月22日签署的一份备忘录中要求国防情报部门调动一切资源，“保护我们的选举基础设施免受外国势力的恶意影响，确保每位合法选民都能在不受外国恐吓、胁迫或恐惧的影响下自由行使投票权”。
The US National Security Agency and other military intelligence and cyber forces will help guard election systems during the November midterm elections, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday. In a memo dated September 22 and announced publicly on Monday, Hegseth directed defence intelligence officials to mobilise every resource "to defend our election infrastructure from foreign malign influence and ensure that every lawful voter can cast their ballot free from foreign intimidation, coercion, or fear".
该声明发布的时间距离11月3日的选举日仅剩几周，而提前投票活动早已开始。此前，唐纳德·特朗普总统曾大幅削减了美国网络安全与基础设施安全局（该机构隶属于国土安全部，负责保护选举基础设施）的职能。
The announcement comes just weeks before Election Day on November 3, with early voting already under way. It also follows President Donald Trump’s decision to gut the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the civilian Department of Homeland Security division set up to protect election infrastructure.
自2017年选举相关设施被列为“关键基础设施”以来，军方网络专家一直负责监控这些系统并防范潜在的黑客攻击。上周，该网络安全机构发布了选举基础设施安全计划，列出了可能对选举系统构成的威胁，并提出了相应的保护措施以协助选举官员维护选举的公正性。
Military cyber experts have routinely helped monitor systems and deter potential hackers since election equipment was designated "critical infrastructure" in 2017. Last week, the cybersecurity agency released an election infrastructure security plan setting out possible threats to election systems and the services it would offer election officials to help protect the vote.
曾任美国司法部律师、现任非营利组织“选举创新与研究中心”（Centre for Election Innovation & Research）负责人的大卫·贝克尔（David Becker）对这一举措的时机表示怀疑。他认为，如此紧迫的时间安排“表明这只是一场作秀”：“如果政府真的想协助各州和地方的选举官员，就不应该在2025年初就摧毁联邦政府的所有选举网络安全能力并解雇所有相关专家。”
David Becker, a former US Justice Department attorney who leads the non-profit Centre for Election Innovation & Research, said the timing raised doubts. The short timeline "suggests this is just theatre," he said. "If the administration was serious about assisting state and local election officials, they shouldn't have dismantled all of the federal government's election cybersecurity capacity and fired all their experts in early 2025," he said.
尽管美国国家安全局（NSA）和美国网络司令部的协助在选举过程中属于常规操作，但许多选举专家、民权组织以及民主党的选举官员仍对特朗普政府可能干预投票或计票行为的迹象保持警惕。特朗普总统不断发表虚假言论，声称选举过程中存在严重舞弊行为，并试图破坏长期以来形成的选举程序。美国最高法院阻止了特朗普试图限制邮寄投票的企图，但允许使用联邦数据库来核实选民的公民身份。
Even though assistance from the NSA and US Cyber Command is routine, many election experts, civil rights groups and Democratic election officials remain alert to signs of meddling in voting or ballot counting by the Trump administration. The president has continued to make false claims that elections are rife with fraud while trying to interfere with longstanding election procedures. The US Supreme Court blocked an attempt by Trump to restrict mail voting, but allowed the use of a federal database to check the citizenship of voters.
这些最新举措再次引发了人们对选举安全问题的关注，同时也凸显了联邦政府在11月3日大选前保护选民权益方面所应承担的责任。（信息来源：PTI）
Together, the latest moves have brought renewed focus to election security and the federal role in protecting the vote ahead of November 3. With PTI Inputs