Vulnerability Note

  Last night, Americans watched to see how the US election would play out. In addition to wondering whether Texas would go blue, or whether votes would go uncounted, many wondered about the potential for cyber interference. Did cyber attacks occur on election day?  Agencies waited on edge all day long. Overall, no cyber attacks appear to have affected Americans on election day. However, for months, the FBI and New York attorney general have tracked a mysterious series of robo calls that aimed to convince citizens to stay home. Although there is no specific mention of the US elections in the call, the number of these calls increased by 5x or 6x on election day. In the calls, the robot’s synthetic voice says the following: “Hello. This is just a test call. Time to stay home. Stay safe and stay home.” Why are these robo calls fueling election anxiety?  For some, these robocalls are triggering anxiety about violence around the election. The calls aren’t a form of election hacking, but they

  Most stores are offering online sales to help consumers avoid crowds within small spaces. Sales have started on Amazon.com, Target.com, Best Buy’s website and many other major retailers’ e-commerce platforms. As you shop, remain alert when it comes to phishing schemes. Phishing is a deliberate attempt to steal sensitive information, including login credentials and/or credit card numbers, by masquerading as  someone trustworthy . QR code scams are also on the rise. QR codes were originally developed by the auto-industry to provide efficient means of accessing large repositories of information. QR codes made inventory tracking easy. Users point at a special square with a phone, and information quickly downloads. Eventually, advertising agencies and others picked up on the utility of this tool. As smartphones grew increasingly popular, so did the use of these cool codes. However, counterfeit QR codes are now a serious concern. Phishing: What’s happened so far this year? Last month, one