Local Election Officials’ Emails Could be at risk for phishing attempts

Cybersecurity firm Area 1 found 666 of 10,000 election workers used personal email accounts

According to a report, many election officials across the US are using email systems that could make them more susceptible to phishing attempts. 

Less than 20 percent of 10,000 state and local election administrations had advanced anti-phishing controls in place. About 666 of the election officials were relying on personal email addresses for election-related matters.

Jurisdictions in several states were using a version of free Exim software that Russia’s GRU intelligence service had targeted for online attacks starting in 2019, according to the Journal. 

It raises concerns that local election officials may be underprepared for possible intrusions into their email systems. 

Already this year, foreign hackers have targeted the personal email accounts of staffers working on the campaigns of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President Trump. Google, which reported the attempts, said last month it had not seen evidence that those attacks were successful.