Securing Elections

guest · Aug 8, 2020

Ohio becomes first state to release vulnerability policy for election-related websites
August 7, 2020
https://www.cyberscoop.com/ohio-vulnerabiility-disclosure-2020-election/

Ohio’s secretary of state has established guidelines for security experts to find and help fix software flaws in the state’s election-related websites, the first such move by a state as the 2020 election approaches.

The vulnerability disclosure policy (VDP) covers registration websites for Ohio residents and overseas and military voters, among other sites, and provides legal liability protections for researchers.
Under the policy, researchers are required to wait four months after reporting a vulnerability to Ohio officials before going public with it.

“We believe that public disclosure of vulnerabilities is an essential part of the vulnerability disclosure process, and that one of the best ways to make software better is to enable everyone to learn from each other’s mistakes,” the policy says.
The VDP does not cover voting equipment, such as voting machines and electronic pollbooks.
Click to expand...

Security experts said Ohio is the first known state to establish a VDP that covers election-related websites. Delaware previously published a general VDP, but it’s unclear how often it is used.
Click to expand...

guest · Aug 18, 2020

Gov't election security struggles to reach some counties
August 17, 2020
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/gov-t-election-security-struggles-reach-some-counties-n1236973

The U.S. government's main cybersecurity watchdog has spent much of the last four years trying to stop a repeat of the 2016 election. That's meant reaching out to the country's more than 3,000 counties with an offer: free cybersecurity tools.

“This is good progress,” Geoff Hale, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Election Security Initiative, said. “It's not great progress.”
Despite the agency’s efforts, many counties are still operating without its help.
Click to expand...

A recent poll from NBC and SurveyMonkey found that a majority of Americans doubt the election will be fair, and officials fear that a hack of election related systems, even if it can’t affect vote totals, could seriously damage voter confidence.
Click to expand...

hawki · Sep 1, 2020

"Hackers test defenses of Trump campaign websites ahead of U.S. election...

LONDON (Reuters) - Hackers have stepped up efforts to knock Trump campaign and business websites offline ahead of the U.S. election, in what [Cloudflare] a security firm working for the campaign said could be preparation for a larger digital assault, according to emails seen by Reuters...

Cloudflare’s security team did not comment on the identity of the hackers...

The increasing number and sophistication of attempts suggested the attackers were “probing” the website defenses to establish what would be needed to take them fully offline, the security assessment said..."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-s-election-security-staff-warn-idUSKBN25S4SF

guest · Sep 1, 2020

State voter registration systems have not been hacked, officials say
September 1, 2020
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/securi...s-have-not-been-hacked-officials-say-n1239028

Federal and state officials said Tuesday that despite fears to the contrary, there's no evidence that any state's voter registration database has been hacked this year.

A viral article in the Russian newspaper Kommersant claimed that a user on a Russian hacker forum had acquired the personal information of 7.6 million voters in Michigan and other voters in several other states, prompting claims that they had recently been hacked.

"Voter information in Michigan and elsewhere is accessible to anyone through a FOIA request," Tracy Wimmer, a spokesperson for Michigan's State Department, said in a statement, referring to the Freedom of Information Act. "Our system has not been hacked.
"We encourage all Michigan voters to be wary of attempts to 'hack' their minds, however, by questioning the sources of information and advertisements they encounter and seeking out trusted sources," she said.
Click to expand...

Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill also put out a statement Tuesday noting that the data purported to have been leaked can easily be purchased legally for $300.
Some of the material, reviewed by NBC News, was information that was already public.
Click to expand...

hawki · Sep 1, 2020

"Facebook takes down Russian operation that recruited U.S. journalists, amid rising concerns about election misinformation

The Russian group that interfered in the 2016 presidential election is at it again, using a network of fake accounts and a website set up to look like a left-wing news site, Facebook said on Tuesday. The Russians hired real Americans to write for the website. The fake site, called PeaceData, also used personas with computer-generated images to create what looked like a legitimate news organization.

The disinformation campaign by the group, known as the Internet Research Agency, is the first public evidence that the agency is attempting to repeat its efforts from four years ago and push voters away from the Democratic presidential candidate....

Facebook said it was warned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the Russian effort.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/technology/facebook-russia-disinformation-election.html

hawki · Sep 3, 2020

"Facebook will block new political advertising the week before Election Day

Facebook plans to block new advertising the week before the presidential election — the first time the company has taken action to limit political advertising in the United States, the company said Thursday...

The company also said that it would label posts by any candidate or campaign that tries to declare victory before the final results are in, directing people to the official results from Reuters. It will do the same for any posts that try to delegitimize the outcome of the election — for example, a claim that voting by mail could lead to fraud. It has also started to limit users’ ability to forward articles on its Messenger platform to large groups of people..."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/03/facebook-political-ads/

hawki · Sep 10, 2020

"Russian state hackers suspected in targeting Biden campaign firm...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp recently alerted one of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s main election campaign advisory firms [SKDK] that it had been targeted by suspected Russian state-backed hackers...

A person familiar with SKDK’s response to the attempts said the hackers failed to gain access to the firm’s networks. 'They are well-defended, so there has been no breach,' the person said..."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...BN2610I4?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter

ronjor · Sep 10, 2020

CISA Insights: Email-Based Attacks on Elections-Related Entities

Original release date: September 10, 2020
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released CISA Insights: Actions to Counter Email-Based Attacks on Elections-Related Entities in light of increased sophisticated phishing operations targeting individuals and groups involved in the upcoming U.S. elections.
CISA strongly recommends elections-related individuals and organizations to prioritize the protection of email accounts and systems.
Use provider-offered protections, if utilizing cloud email.
Secure user accounts on high value services.
Implement email authentication and other best practices.
Secure email gateway capabilities.
Click to expand...

hawki · Sep 15, 2020

"The military is providing an unexpected and powerful line of defense against Russian interference...

The U.S. Cyber Command is quietly pushing ahead with the effort it began two years ago to “defend forward” against Russian influence operations — which means getting inside Russian cybernetworks to detect and disrupt attacks...

Cyber Command has expanded the “hunt forward” strategy that 'disrupted a concerted effort to undermine the midterm elections' in 2018.' They pledged: 'Together with its partners, Cyber Command is doing all of this and more for the 2020 elections.'

Cyber Command’s operations against Russia in recent months have been 'very aggressive and very effective,' said one defense official — to the point that they’ve disoriented some Russian operations planners. Thanks to these efforts, it will be 'virtually impossible' for the Russians or anyone else to penetrate voting systems in the roughly 8,000 jurisdictions around the country, the defense official said..."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...t-4-0_opinion-card-c-right:homepage/story-ans

hawki · Sep 28, 2020

"Ransomware Attacks Take On New Urgency Ahead of Vote...

A Texas company that sells software that cities and states use to display results on election night was hit by ransomware last week...the attack on Tyler Technologies, which continued on Friday night with efforts by outsiders to log into its clients’ systems around the country, was particularly rattling less than 40 days before the election...

While Tyler does not actually tally votes, it is used by election officials to aggregate and report them in at least 20 places around the country — making it exactly the kind of soft target that the Department of Homeland Security, the F.B.I. and United States Cyber Command worry could be struck by anyone trying to sow chaos and uncertainty on election night...

...the fear haunting federal officials for a year now: that in the days leading up to the election, or in its aftermath, ransomware groups will try to freeze voter registration data, election poll books or the computer systems of the secretaries of the state who certify election results..."

Long Read:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/technology/2020-election-security-threats.html

hawki · Oct 9, 2020

"US Cyber Command has sought to disrupt the world's largest botnet, hoping to reduce its potential impact on the election

In recent weeks, the U.S. military has mounted an operation to temporarily disrupt what is described as the world's largest botnet - one used also to drop ransomware, which officials say is one of the top threats to the 2020 election.

U.S. Cyber Command's campaign against the Trickbot botnet, an army of at least 1 million hijacked computers run by Russian-speaking criminals, is not expected to permanently dismantle the network,... But it is one way to distract them at least for a while as they seek to restore operations.

The effort is part of what Gen. Paul Nakasone, the head of Cyber Command, calls "persistent engagement," or the imposition of cumulative costs on an adversary by keeping them constantly engaged..."

https://www.chron.com/news/article/Cyber-Command-has-sought-to-disrupt-the-world-s-15635373.php

hawki · Oct 12, 2020

"Microsoft disrupts Russian criminal botnet it fears could seek to sow confusion in the presidential election

The software giant won a court order to seize servers used by the Trickbot botnet, a network of infected computers that Microsoft says might have been used to lock up voter-registration systems...

SEATTLE — Microsoft has taken legal steps to dismantle one of the world’s largest botnets, an effort it says is aimed at thwarting criminal hackers who might seek to snarl up state and local computer systems used to maintain voter rolls or report on election results. The company obtained an order from a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia last week that gave Microsoft control of the Trickbot botnet..."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/12/microsoft-trickbot-ransomware/

guest · Oct 13, 2020

mood said: ↑

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
Click to expand...

620 applicants file joint case against IT firm which exposed voter data
Joint lawsuit filed in civil courts against C-Planet IT Solutions
October 12, 2020
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/v...se-against-it-firm-which-exposed-voter.824158

More than 620 claimants have come together to file a joint lawsuit against an IT firm which exposed personal data of more than 337,000 voters in a security breach exposed last April.

The claimants say EU data protection laws were breached by the data leak and are asking civil courts to quantify and award them damages for harm suffered due to the breach.
A database belonging to C-Planet IT Solutions Ltd, which included personal data belonging to 337,384 voters, was left exposed online in what the company described as a mishap involving "old" data. Data included names and surnames, ID card details, phone numbers and addresses of voters.
Click to expand...

hawki · Oct 22, 2020

"Ransomware hits election infrastructure in Georgia county

A Georgia county is ground zero for what may be the first ransomware attack to hit election infrastructure this political season.

The attack on Hall County — home to Gainesville and located roughly an hour north of Atlanta — was disclosed on Oct. 7, but the impact to election infrastructure is only now coming to light.

Among the county's affected systems were a voter signature database, as well as a voting precinct map hosted on the county's website...The initial disclosure by county officials said that the attack had hit 'critical systems within the Hall County Government networks'..."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/22/tech/ransomware-election-georgia/index.html

guest · Oct 29, 2020

hawki said: ↑

"Ransomware hits election infrastructure in Georgia county

A Georgia county is ground zero for what may be the first ransomware attack to hit election infrastructure this political season.

The attack on Hall County — home to Gainesville and located roughly an hour north of Atlanta — was disclosed on Oct. 7, but the impact to election infrastructure is only now coming to light. [...]
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/22/tech/ransomware-election-georgia/index.html
Click to expand...

Georgia county voter information leaked by ransomware gang
October 29, 2020
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...-voter-information-leaked-by-ransomware-gang/

The DoppelPaymer ransomware gang has released unencrypted data stolen from Hall County, Georgia, during a cyberattack earlier this month.

On October 7th, Hall County in Georgia announced that they had suffered a ransomware attack that impacted their networks and phone systems.
At the time, Hall County stated that there was no indication that the hackers stole any unencrypted data before performing the attack,
Hall County data leaked by threat actors
Today, the DoppelPaymer ransomware gang published a little over 1 GB of unencrypted files stolen from Hall County computers and claim to have encrypted 2,464 devices during the attack.

While most of the information released as part of this leak is public info, the data can be used in targeted phishing attacks or even for voter intimidation.
Click to expand...

hawki · Oct 30, 2020

"Department of Homeland Security [DHS] plans largest operation to secure U.S. election against hacking

On Election Day, DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will launch a 24/7 virtual war room, to which election officials across the nation can dial in at any time to share notes about suspicious activity and work together to respond. The agency will also pass along classified information from intelligence agencies about efforts they detect from adversaries seeking to undermine the election and advise states on how to protect against such attacks...

The operation will run for days or weeks until winners are clear in most races...

If there are concerning signs of interference, teams of CISA employees stationed in different regions across the country stand ready to deploy to polling places or election offices to help assess..."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...operation-secure-us-election-against-hacking/

guest · Oct 30, 2020

Election (in)security: What you may have missed
October 30, 2020
https://www.welivesecurity.com/2020/10/30/election-insecurity-what-you-may-have-missed/

As Election Day draws near, here's a snapshot of how this election cycle is faring in the hands of the would-be digitally meddlesome
Click to expand...

Minimalist · Nov 3, 2020

Robocalls urging voters to skip Election Day are subject of FBI investigation, DHS official says

The FBI is investigating apparent voter suppression robocalls across the nation, a senior Department of Homeland Security official said Tuesday.

An estimated 10 million calls have gone out urging people to “stay safe and stay home.” There also were reports of robocalls in Michigan falsely telling voters they could vote on Wednesday, because lines on Election Day were long.
Click to expand...

https://www.cyberscoop.com/fbi-investigates-michigan-robocalls-cisa-election-day/

guest · Nov 6, 2020

Georgia Democrats sue governor over unfounded 2018 hacking claims
November 5, 2020
https://statescoop.com/georgia-democrats-sue-governor-over-unfounded-2018-hacking-claims/

The Georgia Democratic Party on Tuesday sued Gov. Brian Kemp and one of the governor’s top aides over accusations that Kemp made in 2018, while he was serving as secretary of state, that Democrats had “hacked” the state’s voter registration database.

In the 37-page complaint filed in federal district court, Georgia Democrats argued that Kemp “baselessly” alleged that the party was “under investigation for possible cyber crimes” just days before an election in which Kemp was the Republican nominee for governor, while also serving as the state’s top election official.
Click to expand...

At the time, cybersecurity analysts were quick to mock Kemp. Adam Levin of CyberScout told StateScoop that Kemp’s accusation was “outrageous” and a “shiny object” designed to distract from the gubernatorial election.
Click to expand...

guest · Nov 13, 2020

Three voters demand €10m fine for IT firm behind huge data breach
Complaint filed with Data Protection Authority against C-Planet IT Solutions
November 13, 2020
https://timesofmalta.com/articles/v...ne-for-it-firm-behind-huge-data-breach.831487

Three of the 337,384 Maltese voters whose data was leaked in a massive security breach in April, have filed a complaint with the Data Protection Authority requesting that the IT company that held the data be fined up to €10 million.

Their complaint comes a month after more than 620 claimants filed a joint lawsuit claiming EU data protection laws were breached by the data leak and asked the civil courts to quantify and award them damages for harm suffered due to the breach.
The collective action was led by The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and Repubblika.
Click to expand...

Romain Robert, senior lawyer at noyb said the breach could be "extremely harmful" for individuals.

“Imagine if your neighbours, colleagues, future employers, landlords, know your political opinions. This is not the kind of society we want to live in”, he said.
Click to expand...

guest · Jan 31, 2021

Harris County, Texas, ditches paperless voting machines
January 27, 2021
https://statescoop.com/harris-county-texas-ditches-paperless-voting-machines/

Officials in Harris County, Texas, announced Tuesday a contract for new voting machines that will finally phase out the county’s aging inventory of equipment that records ballots without producing paper records.

“That’s a good step forward,” Eddie Perez, global director of technology development and open standards at the nonprofit Open Source Election Technology Institute, wrote of the upgrade on Twitter.
The new machines, Hart InterCivic’s Verity Voting System, are similar to equipment that’s previously been rolled out in other Texas counties, including Austin’s Travis County and Tarrant County, which encompasses Fort Worth. Harris plans to have 2,300 of the new devices delivered by March 1.
Click to expand...

Paper-free voting has been phased out aggressively over the past four years amid fears that tabulations produced by entirely electronic machines could be tampered with or manipulated by disinformation campaigns.
Click to expand...

guest · Jun 24, 2021

Man Accused Of Hacking DeSantis' Voter Records Reaches Plea Deal
June 24, 2021
https://news.wjct.org/post/man-accused-hacking-desantis-voter-records-reaches-plea-deal

The man charged with hacking the voter registration records of Gov. Ron DeSantis days before the 2020 election will plead no contest next week in the case in southwest Florida and expects to be sentenced to two years of probation under an agreement with prosecutors, his lawyer said.

Under the plea deal, Anthony Steven Guevara, 20, of Naples, Florida, would avoid having a felony record, said his lawyer, Mike Carr. He was expected to enter his plea Tuesday morning in Collier County Circuit Court, according to Carr and the court docket.
In an interview, Carr described the crime as an effort to point out weaknesses in the state's voter registration systems.
Click to expand...

guest · Aug 16, 2021

Cyber leader calls for nonpartisan path to securing the vote
August 14, 2021
https://apnews.com/article/election...sinformation-c9878bf50e3c72c720f7928979f162d7

Those entrusted with securing the nation’s voting systems must remain nonpartisan as a myriad of complex and growing risks continue to threaten U.S. elections, one of the nation’s top cybersecurity officials said Saturday.

Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said in an interview with The Associated Press that she was focused on ensuring the federal agency stays out of politics, builds trust among state and local election officials and continues to provide critical support and guidance on how to increase cyber defenses.

“It’s incredibly important that we develop the right collaborative partnerships with all state and local election officials so that they know, regardless of what party they are, we are here to provide resources to help them ensure the safety and security and resilience of their elections,” Easterly said.
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Securing Elections

guest Guest

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

ronjor Global Moderator

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

Minimalist Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

Log in or Sign up

Securing Elections

guest Guest

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

ronjor Global Moderator

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

hawki Registered Member

guest Guest

Minimalist Registered Member

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

guest Guest

Useful Searches