There’s good reason to send kudos to the United States–both federal bodies such as CISA and relevant state and county authorities–for an election that seems, so far, secure and free of foreign influence.

However, democracies are more than simply elections and as Levitsky and Ziblatt argue in How Democracies Die, there are many other places in the democratic process and environment where cyber can erode trust and where foreign interference can cause mischief.

Political parties are particularly susceptible, as was evident in the 2016 hack of the DNC. The effect of cyber need not be as egregious as that particular incident: much of the damage cyber incurs is corrosive. Sowing suspicion and doubt over the confidentiality of conversations, particularly ideas are being tested, evidence gathered, platforms developed and coalition of interests established, can led to a self-censorship that is every bit as damaging to the robust political debates needed in a democracy.