Collaborate Disseminate
This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog post authored by Marc Handelman. Read the original post at: Infosecurity.US
The post Alex Halderman, Ph.D., ‘I Hacked An Election, So Can The Russians’ appeared first on Security Boulevard.
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The federal agency charged with protecting U.S. infrastructure — including its computer networks — has hired Daniel Kroese, the chief of staff for Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe, as a senior adviser. The National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), part of the Department of Homeland Security, brings on Kroese as the Trump administration and Congress are seeking to harden U.S. cybersecurity, including its elections systems. Kroese, who announced the hire in an email to colleagues, will arrive at NPPD with close contacts throughout Congress. The move follows NPPD’s addition of Matthew Masterson, the former chairman of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), as another senior adviser. Masterson’s role is focused on election security. It’s not clear yet what Kroese will specialize in at NPPD. “After a remarkable 4+ years, today will be my last day working for Congressman John Ratcliffe,” Kroese said in an email to colleagues. “I will soon be starting as Senior Advisor […]
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The big spending bill currently speeding through Congress will allocate about $380 million to a new fund designed to help local election officials upgrade their systems, a senior U.S. official told CyberScoop. The money would be distributed by the Election Administration Commission (EAC), an independent agency. The move comes after the Senate Intelligence Committee announced Tuesday a list of recommendations for individual states to improve their cybersecurity posture ahead of the 2o18 midterm elections. Senior U.S. intelligence officials predict that Russia will once again target the U.S. election this year, perhaps similar to what occurred in 2016. Lawmakers are expected to release the spending bill — a $1.3 trillion “ombnibus” appropriations measure covering most federal agencies through the end of fiscal 2018 — early Wednesday afternoon. Votes are expected on the legislation soon, because current government funding only lasts through Friday at midnight. The EAC fund would represent one of the first major steps taken […]
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Secret video of Cambridge Analytica’s top executives reveals how the firm covertly and unethically influences elections around the world. Continue reading Watch Cambridge Analytica’s CEO Offer to Entrap Political Opponents With Sex Workers
Since Trump is already campaigning for 2020, the Hatch Act is in effect, and it covers social media. Continue reading Federal Employees Could Get Fired for Liking the Wrong Tweet
A top Russian official warned that foreign hackers could be targeting the country’s March presidential election in which incumbent Vladimir Putin seeks his fourth term in office. Nikolai Patrushev, Russia’s Security Council Secretary, sounded an alarm this week saying that “there has been considerable expansion in the range of tasks pursued by foreign computer intelligence services” ahead of the election on March 18, according to Russian state media. “The carrying out of cyber operations is also projected, including ones aimed at disrupting the ability of the government to conduct elections,” he said, calling for stronger cybersecurity for Russia’s election infrastructure. The Russian chief warned specifically about attacks against the GAS Vybory, the national vote-counting system. Patrushev, like Putin, is formerly a director of the Russia’s FSB intelligence agency. He also warned Russian officials against using foreign internet services like Google and Yahoo, a mirror of the U.S. government recently banning the Moscow-based cybersecurity company Kaspersky Labs from […]
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As we close out 2018, we at Security Boulevard wanted to highlight the five most popular articles of the year. Following is the third in our weeklong series of the Best of 2018. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced Feb.16 that a Federal gran… Continue reading Best of 2018: Project Lakhta: Russian Meddling Gets Russians Indicted
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre’s Ciaran Martin has warned it’s only a matter of time before the UK suffers a category one (C1) cyberattack. Continue reading Serious ‘category one’ cyberattack not far off – warns security chief
The bill calls for a “Cooperative Hack the Election Program”
Continue reading Senators act to SAVE voting machines
U.S. states targeted by Russian hackers last year are pushing back after the Department of Homeland Security provided what they say is inaccurate information about attempts to breach their election systems prior to Election Day. The election administrative offices in California, Wisconsin and Texas said this week that the information provided to them by DHS failed to prove that Russian hackers had either attempted or were successful in breaching state election systems, which includes products sold by contractors and used by states for voter registration and vote tabulation. People familiar with the matter told CyberScoop that the information provided by DHS last week is in fact accurate, but clearly incomplete. The evidence provided to states failed to give the necessary context needed to explain how certain activities aimed at adjacent, interconnected internet systems could impact election-related technology. A DHS spokesperson confirmed the department had in recent days provided clarifications to […]
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