Thankfully, county officials reported that the voting process for its citizens was not disrupted.
Attacks like these underscore the challenges that cybersecurity experts face daily and which loom over the upcoming election.
What is ransomware?
Once a computer system is compromised, there are many things a ransomware attack can do.
But the most common outcome is encrypting a users data to hold it for a ransom payment.
A typical ransomware attack seizes control of a victims computer files and holds them for ransom.
But health care remains an enticing ransomware target: In 2019,759 health care providersin the U.S. were hit.
Ransomwares toll
The first high-profile ransomware incident was launched by North Korea in 2017.
Using malware calledWannacry, the attackers brought the British National Health Service to a paralyzing halt.
Hospitals lost access to their computer systems and routine and emergency care was disrupted.
And its not just health care organizations.
The city of Atlanta wascrippledby ransomware in 2018.
Baltimore was similarlyparalyzedin 2019.
Numerous smaller cities around the world also have been affected by ransomware attacks.
For example, an organizations routine data backup can also inadvertently include ransomware code.
This means victims need to ensurethey are not restoring the ransomware infectionwhen they reconstruct their systems after an attack.
Depending on the victims backup procedures, locating a ransomware-free backup can be a very time-consuming process.
Making this situation more challenging is that many local governments dont know whats happening on their networks.
Thankfully, ransomware attacks are unlikely to cripple the entire U.S. election given thedecentralized natureof voting jurisdictions and systems.
However, even a few successful attacks couldcontribute to disinformation campaignsthat erode confidence in the outcome of the election.
Additionally,major technology vendorsand theU.S.
militaryare taking active steps to disrupt cybersecurity threats, including ransomware, that may target the electoral process.
None of these practices is specific to the ransomware threat or election security.
