Cyber Attacks Are a Growing Threat this Election Year, Says New Report

This new report from CyberCube is worth noting, as international tensions escalate, the digital economy expands and millions of people rely on digital media for their “news.”

Much of that news content being produced is stage-managed, peppered with AI/Google algorithm buzzwords, plus particular weight is given to various globalist-backed narratives. People have seen through much of this spin and hype after Covid19, so the notion that trust in democracy can be restored by more voting is naive at best. The divide and rule politics of recent years in Europe and North America has produced hundreds of quite extreme activist groups, with specific sets of grievances. Few of those entrenched grudges will be assauged by democractic election results in 2024, in any nation State. Whatever the result, nobody will feel happy, postal voting is an obvious opportunity for fraud and nothing fundamental will change, regardless of the results locally.

All that makes it easy for various actors to use cyber attacks to stir up more conflict, manipulate currency values, create resource shortages, or stoke fear and social division.

But it doesn’t have to happen, steps can be taken to track threats, build cyber defences and trace malicious actors. For the reinsurance sector it’s essential that cyber defence is strong through the rest of 2024, since one “incident” could sway an election result in a key nation State. Here’s the word;

The (re)insurance industry should brace itself for potential attacks on the public sector targeting government and election infrastructure, warns CyberCube, the market leader of cyber risk analytics for the insurance industry.

In a new report, CyberCube warns government agencies and officials must increase their cybersecurity measures, enhance election integrity safeguards, and collaborate with cybersecurity experts to mitigate these threats.

William Altman, CyberCube’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Principal, said: “With the US presidential elections, the public sector becomes an increasingly attractive target for malicious actors seeking to sow chaos and undermine faith in democracy. Moreover, around 64 countries plus the European Union will hold national elections this year, involving nearly half of the world’s population. In some cases, the same cyber threat actors attempting to meddle in the US presidential election will also be active in other countries. Given the potential for significant attacks, bolstering defenses in the public sector is paramount in 2024 and beyond.”

The research “Global Threat Outlook, H1 2024” also highlights eight sectors which are under-secured and attractive targets, leaving companies vulnerable to criminal ransomware and extortion tactics, as well as catastrophe events. These are telecoms, IT, education, retail, arts & entertainment, financials, services and healthcare. Healthcare is the most exposed industry tracked by CyberCube.

BANKING AND CURRENCY

CyberCube notes sectors such as banking and aviation are still exposed and targeted but have better cybersecurity. Mining and agriculture remain opportunity sectors for cyber (re)insurers as these sectors are less exposed to cyber threats relative to other industries, yet they still maintain a high level of security.

The report also includes an analysis of state-nexus cyber threat actors, including those in Russia, Iran, and China. (Re)insurers can model realistic cyber disasters considering state-nexus cyber activities using CyberCube’s Portfolio Manager.

Richard DeKorte, CyberCube’s Cyber Security Consultant, said: “CyberCube foresees an escalation in the attacks perpetrated by state-nexus threat actors targeting critical infrastructure. Specifically, Iranian state-sponsored threat actors are likely to target critical infrastructure opportunistically. Russian and Chinese state actors are expected to strategically position themselves to disrupt infrastructure in sectors crucial to the national economy and security of the US and its allies.”