The Federal Election Commission (FEC) said on Thursday that a Silicon Valley Security Company, Area 1 Security, could Immediately Start Helping 2020 Presidential Candidates Defend their Campaigns from the kinds of Malicious Email Attacks, called Phishing, that Russian Hackers Exploited in the 2016 Election.
The FEC made its Advisory Opinion One month after Lawyers for the Commission Advised it to Block a Request by the Company, Area 1 Security, which had sought to provide Services to 2020 Presidential Candidates at a Discount.
The FEC Lawyers said that Area 1 would be Violating Campaign Finance Laws that Prohibit Corporations from Offering Free or Discounted Services to Federal Candidates.
The same Law also Prevents Political Parties from offering Candidates Cybersecurity Assistance because it is considered an “In-Kind Donation.”
This type of Donations must be report by the Campaigns and not Exceed Donation Limits.
Cybersecurity and Election Specialists say time is Running Out for Campaigns to Develop the Defenses capable of warding off Attacks from Sophisticated Nation-State Actors like Russia and others.
In April, Christopher A. Wray, the FBI Director, warned that Russian Election Interference continued to pose a “significant counterintelligence threat” and that Russian Efforts in the 2016 and 2018 Elections were just “a dress rehearsal for the big show in 2020.”
The 2020 Campaigns themselves are unlikely to have the Expertise to Track Disinformation Campaigns or to Build Sophisticated Defenses needed to Fend Off Hackers. In most cases, they Cannot afford to Pay Outside Experts Market Rates for such Services, as required by Federal Election Laws.
The FEC Opinion said Area 1 could provide Anti-Phishing Services to Candidates because the Company was Not offering the Campaigns Special, Discounted Pricing, but simply Offering the Same Lower-Tier Cost that was available to other Organizations of similar Size and Financial Resources.
Cybersecurity Experts say that Ahead of the 2020 Voting, Awareness of Hacking Threats and Disinformation Campaigns has Increased, but so too has the Sophistication of Attacks and Influence Networks Online over the past Three years.
Ed Felten, an Election Security Expert and Computer Science Professor at Princeton University, said this week that Campaigns and Voting Equipment were Unlikely to be Prepared to Deflect another Nation-State Cyberattack in the 2020 Cycle. “The bad guys have had more time to spend on this, and more time to develop new tricks,” he said. At the same time, Felten and others say, the Security of Election systems is No better Off than Four years ago.
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