It has begun. With the proliferation of hacking attempts in practically every sector that are connected to the internet now, it was only a matter of time before hackers gained the confidence to wreak havoc on a nationwide scale. Thanks to the nationwide alert that the FBI issued, it’s possible that the U.S. is under attack and the presidential election itself could be at risk.
Back in June, Arizona’s digital systems were attacked and the FBI confirmed that it was indeed Russian forces that committed the act, the Chicago Tribune reported. Although the incident did not end up compromising voter information, it did result in the theft of login information of an elections officer in Gila County.
It doesn’t stop there, however as the agency has also issued a warning to other states to be on the lookout for data breaches in their own regions as it has already detected several attempts in other locations. This spate of digital attacks has now gotten people agitated, sparking fears that the U.S. presidential elections would be compromised by the attacks, thus resulting in skewed results.
As Politico notes, the attacks could be nothing more than a means for nefarious individuals to make a quick buck by selling information on the dark web. Account credentials of government officials can fetch a high price in the deep market, some of which can go for thousands of dollars.
Then again, the alert code issued by the FBI is designated as “Amber,” which means that the targets are sensitive groups of information that must never be made public. Inside sources have called the alert “unprecedented,” which only fuelled the fears that the U.S. might really be under attack. This only served to further agitate a public that already has a lot to worry about with having to choose between two of the least liked candidates in recent history.