2020 Elections Targeted By The Russians

2020 Elections Targeted By Russia

The 2020 elections are a year away and preparations have come underway. After the last election cycle, the FBI is warning that the U.S election is under threat from nation-state actors. The FBI is currently focused on Russia but said both China and Iran are also a threat. The U.S Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, has now established a new committee to oversee the election security. The agency is aiming to help both the democratic and republican parties protect themselves from attacks, after Russian hackers hit the Democratic National Committee in 2016.

The FBI has stated:

“The threat from nation-state actors remains a persistent concern”

This committee came together after Coats urged the FBI, CIA, and other spy agencies to put together one committee to lead of election security. He also arranged an Intelligence Community Election Executive and Leadership Board consisting of members from across the government. These efforts come by after the President has shown little to no care about election security and foreign interference.

The Democratic National Committee has accepted the help offered by the agencies. However, the Republican party, particularly the Trump administration has been more reluctant to accept the help.

For the last few months, the ethical security experts have been scanning networks and looking for any vulnerabilities that exist. They are constantly hitting, injecting malicious code, and sending phishing emails to campaign officials at the Democratic presidential campaigns. This is done in an effort to close the gaps that exist.

Further, looking into the 2020 elections, it is becoming more noticeable that the Russians will making an effort to interfere. CheckPoint believes that Russia has been building an impenetrable infrastructure for the last decade to launch attacks on the U.S.

In a new report, Checkpoint has stated:

“It is unequivocally clear to us, that the Russians invested a significant amount of money and effort in the first half of this year to build large-scale espionage capabilities. Given the timing, the unique operational security design, and sheer volume of resource investment seen, Check Point believes we may see such an attack carried out near the 2020 U.S. Elections.”

Attacks from Russia can come in waves, all implementing various techniques and methodologies. CheckPoint has mapped out their entire ecosystem, and the results are scary. The infrastructure and foundation Russia has built is strong and the US may not be able to stop the attacks.

 

Contact LIFARS immediately for Penetration Testing Services

 


Credits

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/09/24/new-cyberwarfare-report-unveils-russias-secret-weapon-against-us-2020-election/#32f8b80768f5

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/2020-campaigns-get-trump-administration-help-cybersecurity-counterintelligence-n1057366

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-spy-chief-creates-new-head-election-security-intelligence-n1031841

https://research.checkpoint.com/russianaptecosystem/