US intelligence officials say we should expect more cyber-attacks on the US election system between now and the November midterm elections.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said recently that the warning lights are “blinking red.
Veracity Media, a Washington-based digital consulting firm, is sharing the story of an attempted cyber-attack on one of its clients.
The company operated digital content for Dr. Hans Keirstead, a Democratic candidate in California’s 48th congressional district.
Veracity CEO Ryan Morgan says the candidate received a phishing email that appeared to be a password reset request from Microsoft.
After the candidate entered his password he realized the email was suspicious, Morgan says.
Veracity took steps to protect the campaign but was soon notified of repeated attempts to access its network.
“When you see it in a sustained way, it raises red flags,” Morgan said. “Eventually we contacted the FBI.”
The FBI declined to comment on the investigation.
Morgan says it’s the first such attack against on one of his company’s campaigns, adding that a cyber-security plan is becoming increasingly important to candidates across the country.
