After Major Cyberattack, Election Commission Still Vulnerable (They have fixed nothing!)

Chinese hackers took the government shutdown in October as an opportunity to attack the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and brought the department to a standstill. A new audit shows that the gaps in the FEC security used by the hackers remain open.

The Chinese state and its military organs are known to run a sophisticated overseas hacking network, focused on gaining government intelligence, diplomatic information, and business secrets. Such information can be used by the regime to push for advantage in negotiations with the United States, or deploy American technology in its own industry.

A report from the Center for Public Integrity said the Chinese hackers crashed FEC computers that “publicly disclose how billions of dollars are raised and spent each election cycle by candidates, parties, and political action committees.” Information about U.S. elections and their financing could be potentially valuable for Chinese intelligence services.

The audit that revealed continued gaps in security was conducted by Leon Snead & Company under a contract from the Office of Inspector General. It was released Dec. 30.

It states the department uses the same, simple and “relatively intuitive” password for all its encrypted laptops assigned to contractors.

Even though the FEC was told of the vulnerability in a 2010 audit from the Office of Inspector General, which said the passwords “could be easily guessed or ‘hacked,’” the recent audit notes the FEC is still using the same passwords.

[link to www.theepochtimes.com]

Last Edited by waterlily on 01/02/2014 04:38 PM