DHS Downplays Report That Data Thieves Are Selling Millions of Voters' Data

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/10/dhs-downplays-report-data-thieves-are-selling-millions-voters-data/152051/

BY PATRICK TUCKER
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
Defense One
OCTOBER 15, 2018

Various data on up to 35 million U.S. voters as many as 19 states is for 
sale online, according to a new report from a pair of cyber security 
research firms. But the Department of Homeland Security says that's 
nothing new: much of the data is either public or available for purchase 
from state and local governments.

An Oct. 15 report from cybersecurity research firms Anomali Labs and 
Intel471 makes a big claim: "To our knowledge this represents the first 
reference on the criminal underground of actors selling or distributing 
lists of 2018 voter registration data, including US voters' personally 
identifiable information and voting history."

It says that on Oct. 5, voter registration records for Texas, Georgia, and 
at least 17 more states were offered for sale on the popular dark web 
hacking forum "Raid Forums" by a "known illicit vendor": a figure named 
"Downloading," a likely alias for an administrator on the forum. The data 
purportedly includes names, addresses, voting history, and "other data" 
according to the statement. The price? Cheap, starting at $150 for some 
states and reaching as high as $12,500.

"DHS is aware of the report. It is important to note that much of 
information purportedly being sold is available in most states either 
publicly or commercially," a DHS spokesman said in an email "It does not 
appear that this data is indicative of a successful breach of state or 
local election infrastructure."

[...]



--
Subscribe to InfoSec News
https://www.infosecnews.org/subscribe-to-infosec-news/
https://twitter.com/infosecnews_