Subject: Experts: COVID-19 has increased risks, costs for November presidential election
Source: UPI.com
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/
June 5 (UPI) — The election in November faces an increased threat of cyberattacks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, experts said in a report Friday.The New York University Brennan Center for Justice said in a 29-page report “Preparing for Cyberattacks and Technical Problems During the Pandemic” the necessity of changing work rules and providing new voting options due to the pandemic — especially during a presidential election — will present new risks of cyberattacks and technical malfunctions.
Likewise, it adds, the health crisis means many more voters will opt to cast ballots by mail, but election officials still must maintain in-person polling for those with disabilities and poor mail service.
[what is the definition of “poor mail service? /pmw1]
The authors offer several technical recommendations for how to prepare and warn it will be costly at a time when state and local government coffers have been depleted by pandemic-related closures.
…
Topics
ToC:
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Election Administration and Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Secure Remote Elections Office Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Prevent and Recover from Voter Registration
System Failures and Outages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Mail Voting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Prepare for Increased Printing and Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Prevent and Recover from Mail Ballot Request or Processing Failures . . . . . 10
In-Person Voting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Prevent and Recover from Electronic Pollbook Failures and Outages . . . . . . 13
Provide Sufficient Paper Ballots and Provisional Envelopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Prevent and Recover from Voting Equipment Failures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Results Reporting, Certification, and Public Communications . . . . . . . . . . 20
Prevent and Recover from Election Night Reporting
System Failures and Outages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Make Needed Public Information Easily Accessible. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Develop a Communications Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Endnotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Source: MakeUseOf via beSpacific
https://www.bespacific.com/
MakeUseOf: “One misstep is all it takes to catch a virus, get hacked, or fall for a scam. Here are all of our tips and tricks for staying safe on your computer, phone, and the web!”beSpacific Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Mail, E-Records, Internet, Knowledge Management, Privacy, Social Media
MakeUseOf topic:
Source: ALA via LJ infoDOCKET
https://www.infodocket.com/
Responding to health and privacy concerns during the reopening of libraries and recent discussions of video surveillance and filming in libraries, the Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) and its Privacy Subcommittee have approved guidelines to assist library workers: “Guidelines for Reopening Libraries During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Guidelines on Contact Tracing, Health Checks, and Library Users’ Privacy” and “Video Surveillance in the Library Guidelines.”“These guidelines provide crucial information in a time when some libraries are reopening, with a priority of keeping staff and users safe, while offering important library services to their communities,” said IFC Chair Julia Warga.
“This moment is an opportunity for libraries to step up and reinforce their communities’ faith in them as information safe havens,” states the guidelines. “Instilling the right to privacy into library services is an act of empathy and kindness that we can provide to all of our users.”
…
Source: PC World via beSpacific
https://www.bespacific.com/
PC World: “Choosing the right virtual private network (VPN) service is no simple task. A VPN should keep your internet usage private and secure, but not every service handles your data in the same way. Just look at the critiques of notable computer security experts and online pundits to understand the challenge. Even supposed experts in the field can turn out to be frauds. Rest assured, we’ve done the legwork to determine if a VPN service has a history of good or bad behavior. In order to win our seal of approval, the service has to protect online privacy; allow you to keep anonymity; offer a good variety of locations from which to direct your traffic; offer fast, reliable performance; and provide an easy-to-use interface. Scroll to the bottom of this article to learn more about VPNs and what to look for one choosing one…”beSpacific Subjects: Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Internet, Privacy
NB The PC World article was recently updated
filed https://www.pcworld.com/
bonus RSS https://www.pcworld.com/
Source: Newser
https://www.newser.com/story/
Source: IC3 via DHS CISA via US-CERT
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has released an alert warning consumers of cyber risks associated with mobile banking apps. As more consumers rely on mobile apps for banking, malicious cyber actors are likely to increasingly target them with app-based banking Trojans and fake banking apps.The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) encourages mobile banking app users to review IC3’s Alert and CISA’s Tip on Privacy and Mobile Device Apps for more information on protecting sensitive information. If you believe you are a victim of cybercrime, file a complaint with IC3 at www.ic3.gov.
Source: Newser Editors and Wire Services
https://www.newser.com/story/
Source: In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/
Please join us on June 25, 2020, at 2pm for the webinar “Regulating the Use of Technology to Combat COVID-19,” which will discuss legislation in foreign countries that allows using “electronic means” to assess general adherence to confinement measures and to stop the spread of COVID-19. This discussion is based on research undertaken by the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress. The webinar will highlight the different approaches that countries have taken with regard to location tracking and contact tracing and to addressing privacy and data protection concerns.
The webinar will be presented by Jenny Gesley, a foreign law specialist at the Global Legal Research Directorate at the Law Library of Congress. Jenny holds a Master of Laws from the University of Minnesota Law School, a Juris Doctor equivalent from the Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany, and a doctorate in law. Her doctoral dissertation on “Financial Market Supervision in the United States: National Developments and International Standards” (in German) was awarded the Baker & McKenzie Award in 2015. Dr. Gesley is admitted to the New York State bar and is qualified to practice law in Germany.