election security
EU publishes election security guidance for social media giants and others in scope of DSA
The European Union published draft election security guidelines Tuesday aimed at the around two dozen (larger) platforms with more than 45 million+ regional monthly active users who are regulated under…
Twitter is reportedly delaying the rollout of verification check marks to subscribers as the social network attempts to steer clear of possible impact to Tuesday’s midterm elections. The Elon Musk-owned…
Election Day was largely free from disruptive cyberattacks, as efforts shift to combating misinformation
Polls closed in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday without any significant or disruptive cyberattacks, according to cybersecurity officials and experts. Election Day wasn’t without its problems. Some voting machines…
Twitter tightens account security for political candidates ahead of US election
Twitter is taking steps to tighten account security for a range of users ahead of the US presidential election, including by requiring the use of strong passwords. “We’re taking the…
Every year hackers descend on Las Vegas in the sweltering August heat to break ground on security research and the most innovative hacks. This year was no different, even if…
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Vote-by-mail should be having its moment. Will it?
It’s a mark of 2020 that the image of throngs of Americans flocking to polling places to exercise their right to vote, once a heartening symbol of democracy in action, is now a nightmare scenario that could visit widespread death on unsuspecting communities nationwide. In the midst of a viral…
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A US House candidate says she was hacked — now she’s warning others
“I cannot think of a reason not to share this with the public,” Brianna Wu tweeted. “Two of my non-campaign Google accounts were compromised by someone in Russia,” she said. Wu isn’t just any other target. As a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Massachusetts’ 8th District,…
Homeland Security’s cybersecurity advisory unit “has not yet completed” its plans to secure the 2020 presidential election, a government watchdog has said. The report, published on Thursday by the Government…
Twitter has kicked off the New Year by taking the wraps off a new hub for academic researchers to more easily access information and support around its APIs — saying…
Reddit has linked account activity involving the leak and amplification of sensitive UK-US trade talks on its platform during the ongoing UK election campaign to a suspected Russian political influence…
In yet another letter seeking to pry accountability from Facebook, the chair of a British parliamentary committee has pressed the company over its decision to adopt a policy on political…
Presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren has responded publicly to a leaked attack on her by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saying she won’t be bullied out of taking big tech to…
Reps from DHS, the FBI and the ODNI met with tech companies at Facebook to talk election security
Representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security met with counterparts at tech companies, including Facebook, Google,…
Senate Intelligence Committee releases first volume of its investigation into Russian election hacking
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today released the first volume of its bipartisan investigation into Russia’s attempts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. elections. Helmed by Select Committee Chairman…
Voting machine maker ES&S has said it “will no longer sell” paperless voting machines as the primary device for casting ballots in a jurisdiction. ES&S chief executive Tom Burt confirmed…
A multi-month hunt for political disinformation spreading on Facebook in Europe suggests there are concerted efforts to use the platform to spread bogus far right propaganda to millions of voters…
A study carried out by academics at Oxford University to investigate how junk news is being shared on social media in Europe ahead of regional elections this month has found…
This week, Facebook invited a small group of journalists — which didn’t include TechCrunch — to look at the “war room” it has set up in Dublin, Ireland, to help…
Facebook has been accused of blocking the ability of independent researchers to effectively study how political disinformation flows across its ad platform. Adverts that the social network’s business is designed…
Twitter is adding a dedicated report option that enables users to tell it about misleading tweets related to voting — starting with elections taking place in India and the European…
Facebook has quietly removed three bogus far-right networks in Spain ahead of Sunday’s elections
Facebook has quietly removed three far-right networks that were engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior intended to spread politically divisive content in Spain ahead of a general election in the country,…
Homeland Security could do more to protect election infrastructure, according to a new report by the department’s watchdog. The report from the inspector general, out Wednesday, said progress had been…
Facebook refuses to disclose ‘chuck Chequers’ Brexit advertiser to UK parliament
Facebook has refused to provide the British parliament with the names of individuals behind a shadowy network backing an extreme ‘no deal’ Brexit outcome over a government-negotiated compromise. Since the…
Twitter names first international markets to get checks on political advertisers
Twitter has announced it’s expanding checks on political advertisers outside the U.S. to also cover Australia, India and all the member states of the European Union. This means anyone wanting…
There is “no evidence to date” that any foreign government had a material impact on voting machines or infrastructure during the 2018 midterm elections, according to a new classified report…
Facebook is launching political ad checks in Nigeria, Ukraine, EU and India in coming months
Facebook is launching some of its self-styled ‘election security’ initiatives in more markets in the coming months, ahead of several major votes in countries around the world. In an interview…
The European Union has announced a package of measures intended to step up efforts and pressure on tech giants to combat democracy-denting disinformation ahead of the EU parliament elections next…
Valimail offers US election boards, campaigns and voting vendors its email anti-spoofing service for free
Valimail, an enterprise email security firm, announced that it will offer its email protections for free to relevant government workers and campaigns through the 2018 midterms. That offer covers state…
So much for summer Fridays. Yesterday, BuzzFeed reported that a dozen tech companies, including Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Snapchat, would meet at Twitter headquarters on Friday to discuss election security.…
An apparent hacking attempt on the Democratic National Committee’s voter database was a false alarm, the organization has said. CNN and the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed party official,…
