Russian agents are likely to continue using the same simple techniques such as spear phishing that enabled them to infiltrate computer systems as part of Moscow’s meddling in the American elections, experts and state election officials told The Washington Post on Tuesday.
One of the techniques the Russians used was spear phishing, in which a fake e-mail is sent to someone to trick them into revealing confidential information, according to The Boston Globe.
The Russian agents targeted more than 300 people affiliated with the Hillary Clinton campaign or other Democratic organizations using that technique.
"It’s shockingly easy to compose a spear phishing email that is targeted, that is seemingly genuine, that is loaded with the kinds of personal details that would lure someone into clicking onto an attachment that they shouldn’t,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. "All it takes is one lax employee, or one overly trusting employee."
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment last week of Russian agents details how they tricked campaign workers and other Democratic Party employees into revealing their log-in credentials, with sometimes a single wrong click all that was needed to have devastating consequences.
Although exposing such techniques can help make people more aware of the danger, election officials admit it is difficult to completely insulate yourself from a clever adversary.
"There’s a danger any time you’re relying on individuals to recognize something as spear phishing, particularly as it has become more sophisticated,” said Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams. “Oftentimes [attackers] have done their homework so it’s from a contact you know, it references things that are going on in your community, or in an individual’s life if you’re a public figure."
Thomas Rid, a strategic studies professor at Johns Hopkins University, said that Mueller’s indictment "was a significant stick — a deterrent that they put out there. But then [Trump siding with Russia over U.S. intelligence agencies] was a big carrot to do something like this again."
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