Election Security Data Goes Public on Cloudflare Radar
With the U.S. election approaching, Cloudflare is expanding its public monitoring efforts. Through the Athenian Project and Cloudflare for Campaigns, the company provides free cyberattack protection to state and local election websites and federal campaigns. Now, it is sharing the data it collects from those efforts on a dedicated Cloudflare Radar dashboard, available at https://radar.cloudflare.com/election-2020.
The new dashboard offers a continuously updated view of traffic patterns to election-related sites, separating legitimate requests from attack traffic. Given the importance of reliable access to candidate information, voter registration details, and results, the company is making this data available to provide transparency into whether cyber threats are affecting the electoral process.
Current Threat Assessment
According to Cloudflare's monitoring, cyberattacks have not yet disrupted the websites of campaigns and election officials under its protection. While background attack noise exists, it remains below levels observed in 2016 and below what the company typically sees during elections in other countries. However, with time remaining before election day, Cloudflare's security team remains on standby around the clock.
It is worth noting that traffic fluctuations on the dashboard are expected, both due to normal time-of-day patterns and occasional isolated attacks. So far, none of the observed activity has been surprising.
Coverage Limitations
Cloudflare acknowledges that its visibility has boundaries. The company does not monitor misinformation campaigns on social media, nor does it protect every state and local government or campaign. However, its coverage is substantial: Athenian Project participants operate in more than half of U.S. states, including battleground states, and hundreds of federal campaigns across the political spectrum rely on its services. Given this reach, Cloudflare believes it would likely detect any large-scale attack attempting to disrupt the election, even if targeted incidents might go unnoticed.
The company's monitoring will continue through the election period. State and local elections agencies and campaigns that come under attack can still receive free assistance through the Athenian Project and Cloudflare for Campaigns. Cloudflare frames this work as a civic obligation, arguing that a stable democracy depends on elections free from outside interference, and that its technology should help ensure the process runs smoothly.
