First Monday Forum on election cybersecurity as a PD Focus
By Alexis Posel, IPDGC Communications Assistant
Adam Clayton Powell III and Judy Kang, Executive Director and Program Manager respectively of the USC Initiative on Cybersecurity (pictured with Joel Fischman, PDCA President), spoke on the challenges of election cybersecurity in the digital age. Powell and Kang spoke as a part of November’s First Monday Forum, a recurring collaboration between IPDGC and the Public Diplomacy Council of America (PDCA).
The message was simple: adversaries are attacking democratic elections. Powell explained that non-governmental entities access information such as donor lists and contacts to gain entrance into defense facilities that can disrupt campaign operations. After doing so, these entities, mainly from Russia and China, cause chaos and insecurity in election freedom in democratic nations worldwide.
Powell underscored that “ the reality is that we’re in a race with no finish line,” when it comes to solving cybersecurity challenges for democracies around the world. He expressed concern that the upcoming 2024 election may be more vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks than any other election cycle.
The reason, Powell stated, is that there are more common attack vectors worldwide such as weak passwords, multi-factor authentication, social engineering such as phishing, and unprotected data on electronic devices.
The main concern in 2024? Artificial intelligence flooding campaigns and voters with fake videos and misinformation that could falsely sway the electorate.
The USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative began as a non-partisan project to help educate and protect US campaigns and elections, with support from Google. The initiative expanded in 2022 to include democracies in Europe, Asia, and Africa to exchange best practices in election security.