Category Archives: political campaigns

FEC approves anti-spearphishing service for campaigns at low cost

Posted on by

The Federal Election Commission approved a request Thursday from an anti-spearphishing company, deeming it permissible for the security vendor to provide its services to campaigns and political parties at a discount without violating campaign laws. The FEC expressed trepidation last month over whether it could approve the request from a company, Area 1 Security, to provide low or no cost services to campaigns. A debate stemmed from FEC concerns that a security firm, by offering a markdown on normally expensive services to campaigns, could inappropriately curry favor with lawmakers. This decision is one in a series of approvals the FEC has issued in recent months as it recognizes the serious threat foreign adversaries pose to U.S. elections. “Area 1 has cleared the way for candidates to arm themselves with the best technology available to protect against a repeat of the disastrous cyber-intrusions in prior election cycles,” Dan Petalas, outside counsel for Area 1, told CyberScoop. Area 1 now has […]

The post FEC approves anti-spearphishing service for campaigns at low cost appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading FEC approves anti-spearphishing service for campaigns at low cost→

Center for Internet Security looks to expand threat sharing program to political campaigns

Posted on by

While hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money have been put toward securing state election infrastructure this year, political campaigns are often cash-strapped operations short on cybersecurity expertise. “Especially in the early phases of the campaign, it is not staffed by professional IT and certainly not cybersecurity people,” said John Gilligan, the executive chairman of the nonprofit Center for Internet Security (CIS). When a candidate decides to run, the campaign might acquire a few computers and start building databases without prioritizing cybersecurity, Gilligan said Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. CIS, which runs a center for sharing threat data with states and local officials, is looking to extend its information-sharing initiative to those sparsely-run campaigns. The goal is to chip away at the security-resource deficit facing candidates, as numerous tech companies are trying to do by offering free security services to campaigns. The Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing […]

The post Center for Internet Security looks to expand threat sharing program to political campaigns appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Center for Internet Security looks to expand threat sharing program to political campaigns→

Google tells senator that nation-state hackers probed his old campaign email accounts

Posted on by

Google has informed Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that nation-state hackers may have tried to breach old email accounts associated with his campaign, according to Toomey spokesman Steve Kelly. The probing involved phishing emails to accounts over a year old, and there is no evidence of a breach, according to Kelly. Based on scans of the emails, they did not appear to contain malware, he added. Toomey, who won re-election in 2016, is not up for re-election again until 2022. “This underscores the cybersecurity threats our government, campaigns, and elections are currently facing,” Kelly said in a statement Friday. “It is essential that Congress impose tough penalties on any entity that undermines our institutions.” Kelly’s statement did not say whether the hackers have been tied to a particular country. Google did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Toomey is the latest politician to draw the attention of […]

The post Google tells senator that nation-state hackers probed his old campaign email accounts appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Google tells senator that nation-state hackers probed his old campaign email accounts→