The Washington Post: The Cybersecurity 202: Political campaigns are flocking to encrypted messaging apps. But they're not a panacea.

The Cybersecurity 202: Political campaigns are flocking to encrypted messaging apps. But they're not a panacea.

By Joseph Marks

THE KEY

Political campaigns are flocking to encrypted messenging apps to avoid being the next big target after the Hillary Clinton campaign's emails were exposed by hackers in 2016. But these apps are far from a panacea if other campaign security practices are subpar. 

That’s the blunt assessment from Joel Wallenstrom, chief executive of encrypted messaging app Wickr, one of seven cybersecurity products the nonprofit group Defending Digital Campaigns is offering candidates at a steep discount in an effort to level the playing field between often-scrappy campaigns and sophisticated nation-state adversaries trying to compromise them.