Midterm polls face many cybersecurity risks

Experts and National Security Agency Cyber Director Rob Joyce have emphasized at the RSA Conference the expanding cybersecurity threats targeted at election campaigns as the midterm polls near, CyberScoop reports. "The worry in all of election security is trust and confidence that weve delivered a safe and secure election. And if you know if elections are subject to ransomware, or if theres a botnet that runs a denial of service, what you'll find is thats probably going to, in this day and age, escalate and be an issue of trust," said Joyce. Increasingly prevalent ransomware attacks around the world are a particular concern that should be considered by campaigns, according to Microsoft Senior Security Strategist for Critical Institutions Ethan Chumley, who also noted that phishing attacks remain to be the key threat targeted against candidates and their staff. Meanwhile, Google Account Security Partnership Leader Grace Hoyt said that the use of surveillance-for-hire technologies in election compromises has also been gaining traction.