Tuesday, August 4, 2020 is
Election Day for the 2020 Primary Election in Washington State. You should
receive your voter’s pamphlet and your ballot soon.
Information about the voting and
election results usually comes through reporting from mainline news sources
such as newspapers and TV and radio news stations. The news media will continue
to report on the results, but social media will also have information about the
election.
The Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a function of the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, encourages all of us to carefully assess information that we
see on social media about the election. CISA evaluates cybersecurity and
infrastructure risks and works with federal, state, and local governments to ensure
that their digital systems and physical infrastructure are resilient from outside
attack or natural disaster.
CISA warns that foreign “actors”
are taking actions online to sow discord, manipulate public discourse and
discredit our electoral system. One technique that foreign governments can use
to disrupt our election is to spread disinformation about the voting process
and the election results.
The recent announcement of Russian
intelligence hacking into coronavirus research computers to steal information
on potential vaccines shows that foreign governmental agencies are active
online with cyberespionage activities. And
the announcement that someone hacked several Twitter accounts of famous people
and other accounts to trick the public into giving bitcoin shows that we all
need to carefully evaluate the information that we see on social media.
The best source of information on the
voting process and election results can be found at the
Washington State Secretary of State’s
Office:
Website- https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/
Snohomish County Auditor’s Office:
King County Auditor’s Office:
For more information about
election security and recent cybersecurity related events go to the following
links,
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
Security Agency:
The Seattle Times:
The Verge:
Federal Trade Commission:
Krebs on Security:
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