Name: Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: Trump’s finally talking about election security – but only to spread conspiracy theories
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Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: Trump’s finally talking about election security – but only to spread conspiracy theories

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This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift Sharewith Tonya RileyFor election security advocates, watching President Trump’s unfounded claims about voting machines feels like bizarro world.&nbsp;—“We’d welcome attention from the top down on these issues, but it’s hard not to be cynical about this sudden interest,” Maggie MacAlpine told me. She's a co-founder of the Voting Village at the annual Def Con cybersecurity conference where ethical hackers expose vulnerabilities in voting equipment.&nbsp;AdvertisementTrump on Saturday an NBC News story about the Voting Village to cast doubt on the voting machine company Dominion, which is at the center of his efforts to blame insecure technology for his loss. He's —“It’s one thing to say, ‘let’s safeguard democracy.’ It’s another to finger-point at potential vulnerabilities when there’s an outcome you don’t like,” said MacAlpine, a founding partner at the election security firm Nordic Innovation Labs.To be clear, there’s no evidence that Dominion machines altered any votes or that company officials oppose Trump.&nbsp;The conspiracy theory sprouted from a single Michigan county that initially miscounted votes to favor Joe Biden. The miscount was because of human error rather than Dominion machines and was quickly caught and corrected, .&nbsp;AdvertisementDominion has released an extensive refuting claims made by the president and his allies. The company is also pointing to a from federal, state and local officials that said there was “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.”&nbsp;Trump has also had plenty of chances to improve election security — but didn't take any of them.&nbsp;AdvertisementHis attack on Dominion is the latest salvo in a flurry of claims aimed at reversing Joe Biden’s win.&nbsp;Those efforts, which include claims that dead people voted in large numbers and that Trump observers were unfairly barred from watching vote counting, have to produce any significant wins in the courtroom.&nbsp;Experts have warned for years that election equipment makers should do more to protect their systems from hacking and should be more transparent about their security.&nbsp;AdvertisementBut that’s very different from claiming hackers could change thousands of votes without getting caught — which experts say would be exceptionally unlikely.&nbsp;“There’s a conflation on the part of people trying to cast doubt on the election outcome between the presence of security vulnerabilities in some parts of our election infrastructure — which are undoubtedly there — and the actual exploitation of those vulnerabilities,” Matt Blaze, another Voting Village co-founder and a Georgetown University computer science professor, told me.&nbsp;The chances of such an attack have also decreased dramatically during the past four years because states have shifted from paperless voting machines to either hand-marked paper ballots or machines that print out a paper record where people can verify their votes were recorded correctly. More states and counties are also conducting post-election audits to make sure votes were tabulated correctly. &nbsp;Advertisement“It’s undoubtedly the case that election systems are better this year than they were in previous years,” Blaze said. “They’re not where they need to be but they’re improving.”Here’s more from Alex Halderman, an election security expert at the University of Michigan:Mr. President, if you're worried about voting machine vulnerabilities, there's a practical solution: Paper ballots and risk-limiting audits let officials *publicly demonstrate* that the outcome hasn't been changed by hacking. All states could have them in time for 2024. — J. Alex Halderman (@jhalderm)From the Def Con conference:If this high-profile tweet has you interested in election security, allow us to share some resources:Most recent report from :A playlist of our most recent election security talks:There’s a lot to learn. — DEF CON (@defcon)Election technology makers are also taking cybersecurity more seriously than four years ago — though not as much as security advocates would like.&nbsp;The NBC clip Trump tweeted focused largely on hostility between vendors such as Dominion and Election Systems and Software and Def Con Voting Village security researchers. That hostility has ebbed some in recent years as some vendors have paper records for all votes and allowed some outsiders to of their systems.&nbsp;Blaze said the relationship is “better than it was a few years ago but not where it needs to be.”&nbsp;The White House’s top cybersecurity official is taking leave to work for a group seeking to prove Trump’s voter fraud claims.AdvertisementRussian and North Korean hacking groups are targeting coronavirus vaccine makers.AdvertisementRansomware attacks against schools are increasing, with more hackers releasing student data.AdvertisementToledo8-year-old son.”&nbsp;The government has given TikTok more time to reach a deal to avert being banned.ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the popular video app, has until Nov. 27 to reach a deal that meets the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, . The interagency committee determined earlier this year that the company's Chinese ownership posed a national security risk and ByteDance would have to divest its ownership if the app continues to operate in the United States. &nbsp;The U.S. government claims TikTok could be compelled to share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, a claim TikTok denies. TikTok has been in talks to launch a new company with investments from American companies Oracle and Walmart. The deal appeared to have the president's blessing but negotiations stalled.&nbsp;More national security news:A vulnerability in dating app Bumble could have allowed hackers to find users' approximate location.&nbsp;It also would have made it possible to retrieve the identities and pictures of 95 million users, .&nbsp;Bumble fixed the flaws six months after a researcher first flagged them.“The underlying user security-related issue has been resolved and there was no user data compromised,” a company representative said.More cybersecurity news: CommentsGift ArticleTOP STORIESThe BriefingDon’t miss reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House.Try a different topic or to save your preferences

This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift Sharewith Tonya RileyFor election security advocates, watching President Trump’s unfounded claims about voting machines feels like bizarro world.&nbsp;—“We’d welcome attention from the top down on these issues, but it’s hard not to be cynical about this sudden interest,” Maggie MacAlpine told me. She's a co-founder of the Voting Village at the annual Def Con cybersecurity conference where ethical hackers expose vulnerabilities in voting equipment.&nbsp;AdvertisementTrump on Saturday an NBC News story about the Voting Village...

Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: Trump’s finally talking about election security – but only to spread conspiracy theories

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