I am the
first in my family to have been born in the United States. I am very proud of that fact, and I remember
watching the Presidential Debates with awe.
Even watching the primaries and the general election was fun. But fast forward to today, and nobody can
ever believe that this would have happened.
An election that could be potentially won based on fear and
violence. But this is the awful reality
of it now, and while extremely unfortunate, it must be dealt with.
Much of the
danger comes because of the Cyber risks that are now posed when voting for the
President of the United States. To this
end, the nation’s lead Cyber agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency (also known as “CISA”) is taking front and center stage to
help protect the election process that will be coming up in November of this
year.
Here are some
of the key steps that are taking:
*They have
set up an Elections Operations Center, headquartered in Alexandria, VA. One of the main missions of this entity is to
collect intel on a real time basis and share that will everybody involved.
*They have conduct
face to face, live Security Awareness Training programs for both state and
local officials. This includes such
things as Tabletop exercises, and just general awareness of what to look out
for in both Phishing and Social Engineering plots. Training is also being provided in containing
DDoS and Ransomware attacks, which are also grave threat variants. More information about this can be seen at the
link below:
https://www.darkreading.com/ics-ot-security/bangladeshi-elections-ddos-crosshairs
*They have
launched the “Protect2024” website. The link
for this is: https://www.cisa.gov/topics/election-security/protect2024 This site offers a lot of key information for
election officials to use when it comes to fortifying their voting stations.
One of the
other major threats to the election this year is of course once again, AI. But in this regard, the biggest variant are what
are known as “Deepfakes”. This is where
Generative AI can be used to replicate a
political candidate in a fake video. Very
often, these videos will be asking for campaign donations, with a link that you
can click on. But be extremely aware of
this, as your money will most likely be sent to a phony overseas account.
But yet
another threat which looms on the horizon has nothing to do with AI or
Cyber. Rather, it is the old tactic of
planting doubt in people’s minds. For
example, if you keep telling a lie enough times, not only will you start to
believe it, but others around you will also.
This is what Trump was trying to do in the last Presidential Election,
when there was no evidence to show whatsoever that there was any kind of voter
fraud that was taking place.
The worst
part of this came when Trump refused to concede the fact that Biden had won the
election. This is the first time in
history that it ever happened, and that planted more seeds of doubts in people’s
minds. More details about this psychological
phenomenon can be seen at the link below:
https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/battling-misinformation-during-election-season
Of course, the
viral nature of Social Media does not offer any help to this situation either. In an effort to help American citizens think
clearly and not to be swayed by misinformation, CISA has also launched another
website called “Rumor versus Reality”.
This is the link for it: https://www.cisa.gov/topics/election-security/rumor-vs-reality It provides a lot of good tips and useful information
so that you will not be influenced in any way, and cast your vote in an
objective manner.
Also, as sad
as it is, there is also the physical threat to election workers. Its’s not just to them, but it has been
extended to their families as well. This
was all played out after the last Presidential Election, when many election
workers came forward and testified under oath in front of Congress the utter
hell that they went through with these threats.
In response
to this, 14 states have passed tough legislations against threats made to
election workers. To help enforce this,
a “watchdog” group has been created, called the “National Conference of State
Legislatures”. The details of their work
can be seen at the link below:
For more
details on the specific threats that election workers faced in 2020, visit the
link below:
https://electionlab.mit.edu/articles/online-hostility-towards-local-election-officials-surged-2020
My
Thoughts On This:
I highly doubt
that are forefathers ever thought in their wildest dreams that the land they envisioned
to be the United States of America would ever turn out to be like this. As much as I hate to say, we have become the laughingstock
of the world. I can remember during the days
of Reagan and Bush elder we were held in high prestige.
I even
remember going to India during these times, and all of my relatives kept asking
me: “What is like to grow up in America?” Of course, my answer back then was far more
different than what I would give now.
But anyways, as the voting season comes closer, try not to be swayed by
any misinformation. You vote for the candidate
that you think will be the best for this great country.
And in terms
of the Cyber threats, visit the CISA sites on which I out the links to on this
blog. They will probably be your
greatest source of objective information and data. Also, follow this old adage: “Always trust your gut. If something feels right, don’t do it”.
Good luck
with the voting!!!
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