%XWZKHQLWFRPHVWRUHDOHOHFWLRQLQWHUIHUHQFH&XUU\LVTXLFNWRSRLQWRXWWKH
limitations of his simulation. For one thing, the Adversaria attack was done by a
VLQJOHJURXSZLWKDVLQJOHJRDO7KDWGRHVQ¶WUHÀHFWWKHUHDOZRUOG³,UDQKDVDQ
interest, Russia has an interest, individual agencies have an interest,” explained
Curry. A real attack also would have cybercriminals paid by nation-states, says
Curry.
He pointed to the recent debacle with the Iowa Democratic caucus as an
example of how other parties can get involved in election attacks. In that
FRQWHVWPHPEHUVRIWKHJURXSFKDQÀRRGHGSKRQHVZLWKSUDQNFDOOVPDNLQJ
it much harder to report the outcome. An “ideological alignment of a large
JURXSRISHRSOHZDVDEOHWREHPRELOL]HGWRHPEDUUDVVWKH'HPRFUDWLF3DUW\ ́
says Curry.
Voting machines would also certainly be within the scope of a real attack, but
&XUU\ZDVQ¶WTXLFNWRHPEUDFHSDSHUEDOORWVDVWKHVROXWLRQWRHOHFWLRQKDFNLQJ
The solution to our voting woes is, “a literal democratization by getting more
people [voting],” he says.
0\5HG7HDPVWUXJJOHGWRFUDIWDQH̆HFWLYHPLVLQIRUPDWLRQFDPSDLJQDQGWKLV
was a main concern for Curry. He sees the advertising and data-gathering
economy that supports so much of the internet as a major boon to anyone
running a misinformation and disinformation campaign. The ad-purchasing
SODWIRUPVEXLOWLQWR)DFHERRNDQGRWKHUSODWIRUPVDUHWDLORUPDGHIRUTXLFNO\
pushing disinformation and misinformation to receptive audiences. It’s also
H[WUHPHO\D̆RUGDEOH
“We’re gonna see misinformation and disinformation around the next one;
we’ve seen it in every election over the last four years,” Curry says. “This is a
propaganda war, and the tools available to propaganda people are immense.”
PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION (^) I SUBSCRIBE (^) I APRIL 2020