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Black Hat Research Predicts Significant Changes to Security Operations Post COVID-19 and Exploit Concerns for the 2020 U.S. ElectionSAN FRANCISCO, June 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Hat, the world’s leading producer of information security events, today reveals findings from its sixth annual community survey, Cyber Threats in Turbulent Times. The report highlights important findings from more than 270 of the world’s top information security professionals who identified how the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. presidential election will have a significant impact on the information security industry in 2020. COVID-19: Security Operations May Never Be the Same When asked about their biggest concerns, more than 70% said they are worried that quarantined workers might break policy and expose enterprise systems and data to new risks. In addition, 66% expressed concerns about the vulnerability of the systems and networks used by quarantined workers, while 64% fear a likely increase of attacks by adversaries seeking to take advantage of the crisis. Survey respondents also recognized the long-term implications that COVID-19 will have on the security of operations. More than 80% of security professionals believe that the crisis will create significant changes in operations methods, with only 15% believing that cyber operations and threat flow will return to normal after the COVID-19 crisis passes. "As enterprises adapt to the pandemic and its aftermath, changes in the technology they use, how they use it, and how they secure it -- or, don’t secure it -- have created a perfect storm of opportunity for adversaries to strike," said Eric Parizo, Senior Analyst for Omdia's Cybersecurity Accelerator research service. "The cybersecurity decisions enterprises make now will have major business ramifications, both positively and negatively, for months and years to come." 2020 U.S. Presidential Election: Secrity Will be Tested “Online voting has the potential to increase voter turnout and reduce the costs associated with elections. However, given the current state of cybersecurity, it is highly unlikely that U.S. states will be able to run secure online voting in 2020,” said Sherri Davidoff, CEO of LMG Security and member of the Black Hat USA Review Board. “If we are serious about accomplishing secure online voting, we need a strong, coordinated, well-funded effort.” When asked about the greatest threats to the upcoming election, more than 70% of respondents said disinformation campaign exploits will have the greatest impact on the elections, with 69% of security professionals expecting these exploits to emanate primarily from Russia. 85% of respondents believe that cyber threat actors will have at least some impact on the U.S. elections in 2020, with nearly one third believing that the impact will be critical and the results of the 2020 election will always be in doubt as a result. “Multiple divergent electronic voting platforms are in use and security was not appropriately addressed during the design process,” said Matt Devost, CEO & Co-Founder of OODA LLC and a member of the Black Hat USA Review Board. “These systems repeatedly fail security assessments and would not be appropriate platforms to move online.” To learn more about these findings and other reported intel, download a copy of Cyber Threats in Turbulent Times here: https://messages.blackhat.com/2020-attendee-report About Black Hat About Informa Tech Media Contact:
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