On Wednesday, August 15, 2018, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes and county clerks from all parts of Kentucky participated in a national cybersecurity exercise with 45 states across the nation and hosted by the Department of Homeland Security. The national exercise assisted elections stakeholders in identifying best practices and opening lines of communications to facilitate partnerships for cyber incident planning and preparedness. Grimes said election officials must be prepared, vigilant, and actively inspire confidence in the electoral process. In April, Grimes announced an expansion of the partnership with the DHS to train county election officials across Kentucky on cybersecurity and threats to elections.