Recently, it was reported that the email of the US Ambassador to China, the Secretary of Commerce, and a GOP Congressman was hacked by the Chinese. These announcements follow the revelation of email compromises leading up to recent diplomatic activities with China.
According to reporting by CNN, “the Biden administration believes that the Chinese hacking operation gave Beijing insights about US thinking heading into Blinken’s high-stakes trip to China in June.”
Why should this recent cyber incident be a concern for candidates, campaign staffers, and those who work in organizations in the political sector? After all, if you aren’t even in office yet, you are unlikely to engage in high-level diplomatic negotiations.
It would be understandable to not make an immediate connection. Most people think of cyber incidents as events that garner lots of attention like ransomware crashing critical infrastructure systems, attempts to take down websites, or stealing massive amounts or personal information.
To understand cyber incidents, you need to understand the attacker’s motivation. Cybercrime and attempts to steal money represent the vast majority of incidents that come to the public’s attention. However, when it comes to nation-state cyber-attacks, money is not the motivation. It might be to sew disruption, erode public confidence in our democracy, or straight-out espionage like stealing intellectual property. Or, as in the case of these incursions, to gain a deeper understanding of the policy positions, underlying discussions, and approaches public officials might be taking in discussions.
If you are running for office or work in an organization that engages in policy work, especially foreign policy, you could be targeted as part of an information collection campaign. It could be to gain deeper insights into what you are thinking or proposing to others, and/or an effort to connect the dots and discover your contacts and professional affiliations to target them as well.
The best defense is to lock down your logins using the strongest account protection possible. Hardening your core accounts, like your email, is the most important and impactful cybersecurity step you can take. As evidenced by these recent incidents, email accounts are a prime target. And, don’t forget to strengthen security on your personal accounts as well.
The good news is it’s not that hard to do. Defending Digital Campaign’s Knowledge Base has all the information you need to up your security with articles on protecting your accounts and using more secure methods of logging in like security keys and the new cutting-edge security of passkeys. If you are running for a Federal office you may be eligible for free cybersecurity tools from DDC. Contact us at info@defendcampaigns.org
Also read our recent blog on the Long Con, a similar effort to collect information through creating imposters who look to develop long-term professional relationships.
Written by Michael Kaiser, President and CEO of Defending Digital Campaigns.