UK Electoral Commission Experiences Stealthy Cyber Attack

Main Points:

The UK Electoral Commission disclosed a “complex” cyber attack on its systems.
The hack went undetected for over a year, giving hackers access to data of approximately 40 million voters.
Incident identified in October 2022 due to suspicious activity detected on the systems.
Hostile actors had started infiltrating the system earlier.

A Not-So-Friendly Swipe from Cyberspace

Here’s a modern way of breaking and entering for you – except it has nothing to do with your garden variety burglary. The UK Electoral Commission recently revealed an unwelcome visit from cyberspace. But this wasn’t a friendly hello, it was a ‘complex’ cyber attack. Imagine someone lurking around your house and realising after a year that your privacy has been breached. Pretty creepy, right?

Undetected Underground Activity

What’s worse is that the cyber perp was doing the criminal equivalent of stealing cookies…our data cookies. The malicious actors had a field day for over a year, giving access to data of approximately 40 million innocent voters. Now, that’s a lot of cookies!

The ‘Aha’ Moment

It was only in October 2022 that the authorities noticed something fishy. Imagine getting an unexpected ping and realising that someone had been rummaging through your digital drawers for over a year. It’s like finding out your pet dog has been secretly doing your Sudoku puzzles. Alarmingly, these hostile actors had been meddling with the Commission’s systems long before this.

Summary

In essence, the UK Electoral Commission became the victim of a well-organised cyber attack, with the offenders remaining undetected for over a year. This resulted in the exposure of voter data belonging to around 40 million people. The attack was discovered only during a routine check when suspicious activity was detected on the commission’s systems. Truly, a big digital whoopsie moment!

And, remember kids, the internet can be a bit like a buzzing beehive. It’s always a good thing to keep check and realise when your data honey is being stolen by an unexpected bear!

Original Article: https://thehackernews.com/2023/08/uk-electoral-commission-breach-exposes.html