New Report Reveals Massive Cybersecurity Risk to Campaigns
As the calendar ticks closer to November and the cycle nears a close without the kind of sensational hacking story that dominated past presidential cycles, practitioners would be forgiven for thinking that the threat of a cyber security breach is trending downward.
In fact, the opposite is true, according to an expert in the space.
Defending Digital Campaigns recently released a report on research conducted by cyber security vendor VoterGuard that found 27,000 personal accounts and passwords related to campaigns were available online.
This figure represents exposed and breached accounts, both of which contain a risk for the account holder. “Even if a password hasn’t been exposed, attackers can still use the publicly available details from exposed accounts to craft convincing social engineering or phishing attacks,” DDC wrote in a blog post. “For local campaigns, where volunteers and staff often use personal emails and repeat passwords, this significantly increases the chances of account takeover.”
The article’s insights into rising cybersecurity threats for campaigns emphasize the urgent need for political agencies to adopt proactive digital security strategies. With sensitive information frequently vulnerable to breaches, best practices—such as password management, DMARC authentication, and using passkeys—are critical for safeguarding campaign data. For digital marketers and political operatives, understanding these trends is essential, as even minor lapses could compromise data integrity, diminish voter trust, and impact campaign credibility. Strengthening cybersecurity protocols is a vital step for agencies to stay resilient in today’s high-stakes digital landscape.
~Political Media