An effort to create a national testing program for technology central to U.S elections will get underway later this year. The aim is to strengthen the security of equipment that’s been targeted by foreign governments and that’s provided fertile ground for conspiracy theories. So far, states have been left on their own to evaluate the technology that provides the backbone of election operations. That includes voter registration databases, websites used to report unofficial results on election night and electronic pollbooks, which are used instead of paper rolls to check in voters at polling places. The nonprofit Center for Internet Security hopes to provide the nation’s first uniform testing program for the technology, available before the 2024 presidential election.

As the use of electronic systems has grown, they have proved an attractive target for those seeking to meddle in U.S. elections. In 2016, Russian hackers scanned state voter registration systems looking for vulnerabilities and accessed the voter registration database in Illinois, although an investigation later determined no voter data was manipulated. In 2020, Iranian hackers obtained confidential voter data and used it to send misleading emails, seeking to spread misinformation and influence the election.

Experts say the systems could be prime targets again for those seeking to disrupt voting and sow doubts about the security of elections. Gaining access to a voter registration database, for example, could allow someone to delete voters from the rolls. When people show up to vote, they would be told they are not on the list and forced to cast a provisional ballot.