Securing Elections

xxJackxx · Feb 17, 2020

mood said: ↑

Google offers free Titan security keys to help secure political campaigns
February 11, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/11/google-free-titan-security-keys-secure-political-campaigns/
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I'm tired of seeing Google involved in this. They have a definite political bias Elections should be secured by someone that does not.

guest · Feb 17, 2020

mood said: ↑

Microsoft touts its software for preventing election hacks
July 17, 2019
https://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-moves-to-prevent-election-hacks/

Microsoft: New cyberthreats require new ways to protect democracy
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Microsoft to deploy ElectionGuard voting software for the first time tomorrow
February 17, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/micro...-voting-software-for-the-first-time-tomorrow/

Tomorrow, on February 18, residents of Fulton, Wisconsin will elect representatives for the Wisconsin Supreme Court via voting machines that will be running Microsoft's ElectionGuard software.
These will be the first voting machines deployed in any US election that will be running Microsoft's new voting software, which will face it's first real-world test since being announced last year.
FROM IDEA TO ELECTION PILOT IN JUST NINE MONTHS
ElectionGuard is a software development kit (SDK) that Microsoft made available for free on GitHub.
Microsoft created ElectionGuard after numerous media reports over the past years about critical vulnerabilities being discovered in the (closed-source) software of multiple voting machine vendors.
TOMORROW'S TESTS WILL ONLY HANDLE A FEW HUNDRED VOTES
The ElectionGuard machines deployed tomorrow in Fulton will only handle a few hundred votes, but this will provide many voting machine vendors and US election officials with a solid test
if the software is worth a shot and if it's ready for wider deployment.
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Microsoft: Another Step in Testing ElectionGuard

guest · Feb 19, 2020

Microsoft declares ElectionGuard voting machine trial a success
February 19, 2020
https://mspoweruser.com/microsoft-declares-electionguard-voting-machine-trial-a-success/

The first real-world test of Microsoft’s Electionguard voting machine software platform has been a success, according to Tom Burt, Microsoft CVP Customer Security and Trust.

Yesterday we piloted #ElectionGuard for the first time in an election in Fulton, WI. The ElectionGuard encrypted tally matched the official hand-counted tally and, shortly after the polls closed, voters were able to verify their votes were counted through ElectionGuard pic.twitter.com/1DPHcXjVqU
— Tom Burt (@TomBurt45) February 19, 2020
The software was only used for a few hundred votes but may see a rapid roll-out to other voting machines.
Voting machine vendors Smartmatic and Clear Ballot have already announced partnerships with Microsoft and Dominion Voting Systems said it was also exploring using the SDK.
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guest · Feb 21, 2020

Utah bill explores taking mobile voting statewide
February 21, 2020
https://statescoop.com/utah-bill-looks-at-taking-mobile-voting-statewide/

A bill making its way through the Utah state legislature would order election officials to explore statewide use of mobile-voting software based on blockchain technology.
McKell’s bill would order the office of Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who oversees elections in Utah, to carry out a study “related to internet voting” and whether allowing it statewide would increase overall voter turnout.

The Utah state bill, which passed the state House on Tuesday and was introduced in the state Senate on Wednesday [...] has caught the attention of state Chief Information Officer Mike Hussey, who brought it up in a recent episode of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ “Voices” podcast.

“We’ve tried that out in one county, and it seems to have been very successful,” he said of online voting.
But online voting is roundly criticized by election-security experts, who say that old-fashioned paper ballots read by optical scanners are the most secure medium for collecting and counting votes.
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guest · Feb 24, 2020

Microsoft NZ rolls out free AccountGuard service ahead of general election
February 25, 2020
https://securitybrief.co.nz/story/m...ccountguard-service-ahead-of-general-election

Microsoft New Zealand is committed to protecting political parties and national government organisations (NGOs) from cyber threats, with this month’s launch of a new, free cybersecurity service.

On 19 September 2020 New Zealand will hold its next general election. Microsoft’s AccountGuard service aims to strengthen cybersecurity for those campaigning for the election, or for government organisations involved in political education or analysis.

“While Kiwis can be justifiably proud of the democratic foundations of their country, in the 21st Century, threats to democracy don’t exclusively come from weak state institutions or leaders who abuse power. In fact, robustness of electoral processes and their digital resilience to manipulation by malicious cyber actors, both domestic and foreign, are becoming very important areas of focus,” explains Surowiec.
AccountGuard was first launched in the United States and gradually rolled out to Australia, India, Canada, and 22 European countries.
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guest · Feb 26, 2020

Ex-Mossad chief says Likud app leaks as dangerous to Israel as coronavirus
February 26, 2020
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-mo...-leaks-as-dangerous-to-israel-as-coronavirus/

A former head of the Mossad spy agency sounded the alarm Wednesday about an app operated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party ahead of next week’s elections, warning that using it was “a real security threat” and likening the level of danger it poses to that of the deadly coronavirus.

Twice in two weeks, Likud’s online voter-tracking efforts have resulted in leaks of the entire database of Israeli voters, including names, home addresses and other details, to the wider internet.
The first breach earlier this month was one of the largest and most compromising leaks of Israelis’ personal information in the nation’s history [...] The second leak, reported on Sunday, was caused by faulty data protection on a website and app, called Elector, [...]

Elector spokesman Yaron David responded by calling Pardo’s remarks “a savage and irresponsible tongue-lashing against the most secure and monitored election app currently around, and all based on false information that he doubtless hasn’t examined.”
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Minimalist · Feb 27, 2020

Facebook hits pause on election reminders within Europe

For the past 12 years whenever election day rolls around, Facebook users have received a reminder to get out and vote. But users based in Europe won't see these reminders for the foreseeable future, and will have to remember to vote without this digital prompt.
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https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-hits-pause-on-election-reminders-within-europe/

Minimalist · Feb 27, 2020

DNC tells campaigns to be wary of contact from fake Sanders team account

The Democratic National Committee is warning presidential campaigns that someone has been impersonating a Bernie Sanders staffer through a domain registered in a foreign country, with the intention of contacting at least two other campaigns.
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https://www.cyberscoop.com/dnc-tells-campaigns-wary-contact-fake-sanders-team-account/

guest · Feb 28, 2020

A high school student created a fake 2020 candidate. Twitter verified it
February 28, 2020
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/28/tech/fake-twitter-candidate-2020/index.html

Andrew Walz calls himself a "proven business leader" and a "passionate advocate for students." Walz, a Republican from Rhode Island, is running for Congress with the tagline, "Let's make change in Washington together," or so his Twitter account claimed.

The student, who CNN Business spoke to with the permission of his parents and has agreed not to name as he is a minor, said he was "bored" over the holidays and created the fake account to test Twitter's election integrity efforts.
The blue checkmark is a hallmark of Twitter and one that was later copied by Facebook. It is often given to prominent accounts belonging to journalists, politicians, government agencies and businesses.

The verification of the fake candidate came as real candidates across the US have complained that Twitter has not verified their accounts.
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Minimalist · Feb 28, 2020

Could Coronavirus Concerns Impact Election Day?

For the past two years, Cybereason has been participating in election security tabletop exercises. These exercises bring state, local, and federal law enforcement together to improve the processes they have to defend our elections. We simulate election day, placing ethical hackers head-to-head against law enforcement in imaginary exercises that challenge their processes so they can be more prepared for the future. These collaborative exercises mimic exercises we do every day in security, also known as purple teaming. By understanding the adversary and predicting what they will do, we can build a stronger defense together.

With this in mind, we’ve spent some time considering how misinformation about coronavirus could be used to degrade faith in democracy.
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https://www.cybereason.com/blog/could-coronavirus-impact-election-day

Minimalist · Mar 1, 2020

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab launches blockchain-based EVM for secure online voting

Polys, a project from the Kaspersky Innovation Hub developing a secure online voting platform for businesses, universities and political parties, unveiled a prototype of its new Polys Voting Machine.
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https://www.hindustantimes.com/tech...line-voting/story-V8IKyivg0AWjjgIdaGhJ0O.html

guest · Mar 2, 2020

Georgia AG's office closes probe of alleged attempted hack of voter registration system
March 2, 2020
https://us.cnn.com/2020/03/02/politics/georgia-ag-closes-voting-system-investigation/index.html

The Georgia state attorney general's office said Monday it has ended its investigation into the alleged hacking of Georgia's voter registration system in 2018.

"While the evidence in this case properly gave rise to concerns that were appropriately address to law enforcement, the investigation did not reveal any evidence to support ... criminal prosecution," the office said Monday in an investigative report.
Georgia Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikema Williams called the investigation "a sham from the start" in a statement Monday.
"Since the beginning of this whole process, Georgia Democrats have made it clear that our priority is to protect the integrity of Georgia's democracy, while Brian Kemp and his administration have stopped at nothing to chop it down," Williams said.
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ronjor · Mar 3, 2020

Super Tuesday marks first major security test of 2020

by Christina A. Cassidy March 3, 2020
Tuesday's presidential primaries across 14 states mark the first major security test since the 2018 midterm elections, with state and local election officials saying they are prepared to deal with everything from equipment problems to false information about the coronavirus.
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guest · Mar 3, 2020

20 Israelis sue Likud over app breach that led to massive data leak
March 2, 2020
https://seclists.org/dataloss/2020/q1/180

A group of 20 Israelis filed a NIS 1 million ($286,370) lawsuit on Sunday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the developers of an app it used to register voters ahead of the
parliamentary election, after massive data breaches leaked the personal information of millions of citizens.

The plaintiffs argue in their suit that the use of their information by Likud and by the Elector company, whose application the party purchased, violated their privacy.

“The lawsuit is intended to show that those who do not safeguard the privacy [of others] will consequently feel it in their wallets,” said the attorney representing the plaintiffs, Jonathan Klinger, in a
statement.”Additionally it reminds other players in society that if they also violate citizens’ privacy there will be someone to come and sue them.”
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guest · Mar 8, 2020

Your smart home device could be a threat to our elections
March 8, 2020
https://www.fastcompany.com/90473679/your-smart-home-device-could-be-a-threat-to-our-elections

The app failure that led to a chaotic 2020 Iowa caucus was a reminder of how vulnerable the democratic process is to technological problems—even without any malicious outside intervention.

As I explain in my new book, The Internet in Everything: Freedom and Security in a World with No Off Switch, election interference may well come through the vast constellation of always-on, always-connected cameras, thermostats, alarm systems, and other physical objects collectively known as the “internet of things.”
It is not necessary to hack into voting systems themselves but merely co-opt internet-connected objects to attack political information sites, stop people from voting, or exploit the intimate personal data these devices capture to manipulate voters.

They could also restrict public access to government websites with information about how and where to vote, as well as news reports on election results.
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guest · Mar 11, 2020

2020 Election Security: Sizing Up Preparedness
Security Experts Say US Is Better Prepared This Time Around
March 11, 2020
https://www.databreachtoday.com/2020-election-security-sizing-up-preparedness-a-13925

The U.S. is better prepared to respond to election interference and related cybersecurity issues than it was four years ago, several security professionals, including one of the FBI's top experts, tell Information Security Media Group.

"We've done a much better job since 2016 of really establishing channels of communication and being able to share threat indicators with [social media firms], so that they can protect their platforms. That's really one of the good things that we've done," FBI agent Elvis Chan tells ISMG.
More Communication
In addition, various government agencies have improved the way they share election-related information and intelligence among themselves, Chan says. Federal agencies are also more willing and able to provide details to their counterparts at the state and local level, he notes.

Nevertheless, Kayyem, who is now a professor at Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, says that the risks posed by the use of technology in elections must be addressed.
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guest · Mar 13, 2020

Facebook, Twitter Remove More Russia-Linked Accounts
March 13, 2020
https://www.inforisktoday.com/facebook-twitter-remove-more-russia-linked-accounts-a-13939

Facebook and Twitter have removed dozens suspicious accounts after investigations found that many of them operating out of Ghana and Nigeria had ties to Russian groups attempting to spread disinformation to U.S. voters in the months before the November presidential election.

On Thursday, Facebook announced that it had removed 49 accounts and 69 pages from its platform, as well as 85 Instagram accounts, which were engaging in spreading disinformation.
In some cases, Facebook's internal security team found a connection between these pages and the notorious Internet Research Agency, a Russia-based troll farm that employs hackers to create bogus social media accounts.
The agency was named as one of the major disruptors of the 2016 presidential election (see: Report: US Struggled to Counter 2016 Election Interference).

Facebook had previously banned the Internet Research Agency from its platforms.
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The threat actors used fake accounts to post on the groups and manage pages that pretended to be not-for-profit organizations or personal blogs, according to Facebook. The company's internal systems rejected attempts by these groups to run political ads, the company says.
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guest · Mar 14, 2020

Iowa SOS Provides $1M for Cybersecurity Ahead of Elections
March 14, 2020
https://www.governing.com/finance/Iowa-SOS-Provides-1M-for-Cybersecurity-Ahead-of-Elections.html

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is asking Iowa county auditors to do a “walk-through” of their systems to make sure they are secure ahead of the 2020 elections.
Pate is telling auditors that his office will provide $1 million to assist them with cybersecurity resources ahead of the elections.

During the next few weeks, the United States Department of Homeland Security and the state Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) will conduct scans of all 99 counties’ websites and internal systems to look for vulnerabilities. That could be outdated equipment and software, for example, said Jeff Franklin, Pate’s chief cybersecurity officer.
Solutions may include replacing equipment and software, and separating critical infrastructure from non-critical systems, he said.
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guest · Mar 15, 2020

UK ministers will no longer claim 'no successful examples' of Russian interference
March 15, 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/technol...o-successful-examples-of-russian-interference

Ministers have been told they can no longer say there have been “no successful examples” of Russian disinformation affecting UK elections, after the apparent hacking of an NHS dossier seized on by Labour during the last campaign.
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guest · Mar 15, 2020

"Massive" computer attack at the town hall of Marseille and the metropolis
Some 300 machines that were to create the proxy signing lists have been rendered inoperative
March 15, 2020
https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2020-03-15---"massive"-computer-attack-at-the-town-hall-of-marseille-and-the-metropolis-.SygtnwzjHI.html

The city of Marseille as well as the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis were victims of a "massive and generalized" computer attack, but which will have no consequence on the municipal elections, we learned on Saturday from concordant sources .
A "cyber attack unprecedented in its scale"
In a press release, the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis headed by Martine Vassal, LR candidate for mayor of Marseille, mentions a "cyber attack unprecedented by its scale". "Despite the extreme precautions taken every day to protect computer equipment and protect against viruses and hacking, this cyber attack, unprecedented in its scale and its strike force, could not be avoided," she explains.

"This attack is based on" ransomware "(ransomware), malicious software that blocks access to a computer or files by encrypting them, while demanding from the victim the payment of a ransom", continues the metropolis. It also specifies that the technical teams are hard at work to make a precise diagnosis of the compromised systems in order to "stop the propagation" of this attack and to "limit the impact".
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guest · Mar 26, 2020

Every presidential campaign website executes suspicious third-party code
March 25, 2020
https://www.scmagazine.com/home/sec...website-executes-suspicious-third-party-code/

An analysis of 11 presidential campaign websites performed last September and again in December found multiple instances of potentially risky third-party code, unwanted code execution and unauthorized data tracking.

According to a new report from The Media Trust, 81 percent of executing code on these websites was not internally developed, but rather from external third-party vendors. (Which perhaps brings new meaning to the term “third-party” candidate.)
However, it is important that web developers know that they are pulling this code from trustworthy sources.

The average candidate site relied on 54 domains from 89 vendors, the report noted.
The Media Trust also specifically looked at each campaign site’s donation process, and found that site visitors are essentially interacting with nine to 56 different third-party code vendors when they complete a donation transaction.
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The Media Trust: U.S. Presidential Election 2020

The fallout of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election raised questions regarding voting fraud and distribution of misinformation. From fake accounts and digital platforms to bots and foreign influence, today’s election process is riddled with vulnerabilities. The 2020 federal election promises more of the same.
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guest · Mar 26, 2020

Internet Voting in Puerto Rico
March 24, 2020
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/03/internet_voting.html

Puerto Rico is considered allowing for Internet voting. I have joined a group of security experts in a letter opposing the bill.

"Cybersecurity experts agree that under current technology, no practically proven method exists to securely, verifiably, or privately return voted materials over the internet. That means that votes could be manipulated or deleted on the voter's computer without the voter's knowledge, local elections officials cannot verify that the voter's ballot reflects the voter's intent [...]"
The ACLU agrees.
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ACLU: ACLU National and ACLU Puerto Rico Oppose Puerto Rico Internet Voting Bill

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Puerto Rico urged Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez in a public letter sent today to veto Senate Project 1314, the “internet voting” bill, which, if codified into law, would endanger the security of the island’s elections and jeopardize Puerto Ricans’ voting rights.
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guest · Apr 1, 2020

Updated | IDPC launches investigation after over 330,000 voters’ personal data leaked in security breach
April 1, 2020
https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/...oters_personal_data_leaked_in_security_breach

The data protection commissioner will be launching an investigation after a massive security vulnerability - in a database containing information on 337,384 voters from Malta that was being held by a Maltese IT company - led it to be exposed without security.
The data includes ID numbers, names, addresses, gender, phone numbers and dates of birth.

The security breach was detected as early as 29 February, after a security researcher posted details of the vulnerability of the company’s server.
The company was notified of the leak via email in February, but there was no reaction - the hole in the server was only closed around the 9th March.

"We got to know about this personal data breach this morning from media reports. We shall trigger our investigation procedure with the controller responsible for the processing to establish all the facts surrounding this security incident," Deguara is quoted as saying.
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guest · Apr 3, 2020

Microsoft expands security offerings to election officials
April 2, 2020
https://statescoop.com/microsoft-expands-security-offerings-election-officials/

Microsoft announced Thursday it is expanding its cybersecurity offerings to state and local election officials, including access to a free service that offers threat detection on email or other accounts, and specialized services from the company’s incident-response group.

The announcement is part of Microsoft’s two-year-old Defending Democracy Program, a suite of election-security products that the company has been providing to campaigns and officials in both the United States and abroad.
Previously, AccountGuard, which was introduced in 2018, was only available to campaigns, political parties and some nonprofit organizations.

Microsoft also said it will make members of its Detection and Response Team, or DART, its incident-response group, available to election officials at discounted rates through a program the company’s calling “Election Security Advisors.”
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Microsoft: Protecting democracy, especially in a time of crisis

guest · Apr 7, 2020

Mobile voting backer says Voatz 'needs to address' bugs
April 6, 2020
https://statescoop.com/mobile-voting-backer-says-voatz-needs-address-bugs/

Voatz, the publisher of a mobile app that’s been used in several controversial pilot projects, needs to address its vulnerabilities before it can regain the confidence of election officials, according to a foundation that’s been working with state and local governments to allow some voters to cast ballots over mobile phones.

“Voatz needs to address some of the concerns,” said Sheila Nix, the president of Tusk Philanthropies, which has been working with a handful of state and local election administrators since 2018 to allow military and overseas voters to send ballots back home with their handheld devices.
A lengthy audit published March 13 by security firm Trail of Bits revealed that Voatz’s app contained 16 “severe” technical vulnerabilities, including the exposure of sensitive user data and improper use of cryptographic algorithms.

The Trail of Bits report also confirmed many findings made weeks earlier by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who used a “reverse-engineered” mock-up of Voatz’s system.
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