Vanguard Magazine

www.vanguardcanada.com DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018 27 is likelier that adversaries would use cyber capabilities to disrupt the voting process in order to sow doubt among voters about the fairness of the election." More specifically, with respect to the up- coming 2019 federal election, the report points to areas of higher risk: "Federal elec- tions are largely paper-based and Elections Canada has a number of legal, procedural, and information technology measures in place which mitigate cyber threats. We as- sess that it is nearly certain that, regarding Canada's democratic process at the federal level, political parties and politicians, and the media are more vulnerable than the elections themselves." Political parties and politicians are obvious targets. In the U.S., hackers believed to be associated with Russia compromised DNC computers and released private emails. A similar scenario played out during the final days of the recent French election. "During the electoral process, voters are judging and assessing political parties and politicians as they decide who will get their vote. Political parties and politicians try to persuade voters using specific messages and ideas. Adversaries may try to obtain damaging information to gain control over individuals and/or sway public opinion against them." According to the report, the primary threats against politicians are: cyberespio- nage, blackmail, embarrassing or discred- iting a political target, and stealing or ma- nipulating the voter or party database. An almost unlimited number of attack scenar- ios are possible. For example, if emails are stolen, blackmail may be attempted and it is trivial to alter emails or mix fabricated emails amongst real ones prior to releas- ing them to the media. Journalists and sites such as Wikileaks may be leveraged in an attempt to increase the perceived legiti- macy of the information. Traditional and social media are also targets. While hacking the voter list or compromising political party computers remain serious threats, manipulating the media could be easier, less risky, and more effective. The report explains: "Meaningful political participation in Canada's democratic process depends on the public having access to a broad spec- trum of information and competing po- litical viewpoints. Nowadays, Canadians mostly get their information online – ei- ther through traditional media establish- ments, social media, or both. It is also online where most Canadians contribute their own views on the political issues of the day. "The concern arises if foreign adversar- ies use cyber capabilities to try to covertly influence Canada's media environment. Adversaries could achieve this through a thorough understanding of how tradi- tional media and social media work and how Canadians consume information. The existence of foreign influence, or the perception of such, could shape the opin- ions of voters and reduce the trust that Canadians have in the information they are getting. "Adversaries could use social media to spread lies and propaganda to a mass au- dience at a low cost. Adversaries could masquerade as legitimate information providers, blurring the line between what is real and what is disinformation. They could do so by hijacking social media ac- counts, or they could create websites or new social media accounts that purport to be trustworthy producers or disseminators of news and information." For example, "According to media re- ports, French intelligence believes that social botnets were used to influence the presidential election. Certain social media accounts, the same ones that were active during last year's U.S. election, were pro- moting false and defamatory information against a leading candidate." Botnets and troll farms are of particu- lar concern due to their ability to amplify messages on social media. "Some adver- saries will use 'troll farms' – groups of people who are paid to spread propaganda on comment sections of traditional media websites, as well as Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else they can reach their audi- ence. In a similar manner, adversaries use social botnets – a series of computers that are all coordinated by one user. A single individual can harness hundreds or even thousands of accounts in order to amplify his/her message, artificially giving rise to the appearance of public consensus in sup- port of a particular view." CSE should be commended on this re- port; it objectively examines threats to the Canadian democratic process and explains various cyber attack scenarios in non-tech- nical terms. Effectively addressing cyber threats requires a multi-pronged, multi-lay- ered approach. Public awareness, including this report, is an excellent first step. Eric Jacksch is a leading cybersecurity analyst with over 20 years of practical security experience. He has consulted to some of the world's largest banks, govern- ments, automakers, insurance companies and postal organizations. Eric was a regular columnist for Monitor Magazine and has contributed to several other publications. While hacking the voter list or compromising political party computers remain serious threats, manipulating the media could be easier, less risky, and more effective. cybersecurity

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