BOISE - As midterm primary elections inch closer and closer, cybersecurity of election systems is top of mind across the nation.
Seventeen states requested on-site risk assessments from the Department of Homeland Security to ensure elections are secure against cyber-tampering.
Idaho was not one of those states but election officials say the Gem State is involved in informal conversations with both DHS and the FBI regarding election cybersecurity.
That includes constant vulnerability scans.
"We get information from several sources on what types of attacks are happening, what those attacks are trying to exploit and then we are able to look at those to see if we have any of those same vulnerabilities and if so, what patches can we use to mitigate those," said Deputy Secretary of State Chad Houck.
Just last week, election officials implemented several DHS processes and recommendations to keep state elections secure.
But among Idaho's high-tech security measures, the state's best defense against a potential threat is much simpler.
"One of the biggest security features we have in this state is none of the voting systems are connected to the internet in any way," said Chief Deputy of Secretary of State Timothy Hurst.
And, all elections are paper-based.
"We still have 12 counties that vote strictly by paper ballot and they are counted by hand, the other have electronic tabulation systems but they are still fill in the bubble or fill in the square, they are all paper-based," said Hurst.
Hurst and Houck say there has never been a cyber-attack in Idaho's elections.
"The people of Idaho should feel very safe that their vote when they go to the polls, or whether they vote absentee, however, their vote comes in, is going to be counted and is going to be accurate," said Houck.