We have less than 90 days to go until Election Day 2016. Citizens across the United States will go to the polls to choose between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump—or possibly one of the alternative candidates, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, or Evan McMullin. There is a lot at stake in any general election, but this one feels more important than most—especially as it relates to cybersecurity. Security itself is certainly not new—I’ve worked in computer and network security for years. In May of 2013, however, a lot changed. The revelations of the NSA leaks from Edward Snowden shook the foundations of computer security and the mechanics of data intelligence. It seems there are corporate, government, and military data breaches on a regular basis. We have entered into a sort of Cold War of cyber espionage, and the stakes and consequences continue to escalate.
One thing that makes this election stand out is the fact that data was hacked from the Democratic National Committee servers and leaked in what seems to be an attempt to influence the election itself. Signs seem to point to Russia as the source of the attack—which would be insidious on an unprecedented level, but accurate attribution in cyber attacks is challenging. Even if it was just an average geopolitical “hacktivist” trying to be a nuisance, the fallout has repercussions that damage the very concept of our election process.
… “Normally, we wouldn’t consider this an extraordinary event, given that there is a great deal of basic information of this type available through what are likely less critical information sources belonging to a large spectrum of Democratic Party organizations,” explains Steve Grobman, CTO for Intel Security. “In this case, however, it’s occurring within the context of the acknowledged DNC compromise and email disclosures, and subsequent acknowledged DCCC and Clinton Campaign compromises.
Full Article: The Cybersecurity Stakes Of Election 2016 – Forbes.