As we near the 2024 US presidential election, businesses around the country face an escalating cybersecurity threat that demands immediate and sustained action. According to recent research, two-thirds of employees already report an increase in political emails hitting their work inboxes. This increase doesn’t just clutter mailboxes—it creates a perfect storm for potential ransomware attacks, putting organizations at significant risk.
Cybercriminals are, at their core, opportunists. They recognize that major public events like elections create an ideal environment for their nefarious activities. During these times, emotions can run high. Americans also tend to pay closer attention to political news and communications. This means workers may be more susceptible to election-related phishing attempts designed to compromise their employers’ IT systems.
The success of phishing attacks often depends on the attacker’s ability to engineer an emotional response. By tapping into the heightened political atmosphere, cybercriminals try to craft messages that provoke strong reactions, increasing the likelihood that recipients will click on malicious links without proper validation.
Consider the typical election-related email: it might claim to contain breaking news about a candidate, allege a scandal or promise exclusive insider information. For an employee caught up in the political fervor, the temptation to click could override their usual sense of caution. This momentary lapse in judgment is all a skilled attacker needs to gain a foothold inside an organization’s network.
The research also highlighted another alarming statistic: more than a third of end users admitted that they’re at least somewhat likely to click on a link in a political campaign email, even if it appears suspicious. And one out of five are unlikely to validate a political campaign email before opening an attachment.
This lack of caution is troubling on its own, but it gets worse:
Most U.S. workers access personal email on the same devices they use to access work correspondence. This blurring of personal and professional boundaries creates a significant vulnerability for businesses nationwide. An employee engrossed in the latest poll numbers or campaign developments might be less vigilant about cybersecurity best practices, especially if they’re toggling between work tasks and election news.
The severe consequences of a successful phishing attack that leads to ransomware are numerous, from operational and financial disruption to legal and reputational repercussions. As outlined, these risks are becoming even more pronounced as the election season heats up. It’s crucial organizations bolster their cyber resilience and maintain a heightened state of vigilance to protect against potentially devastating attacks.
A comprehensive approach to heightened cyber resilience should include:
- Employee education and awareness – Implement comprehensive training programs that teach staff to recognize and report suspicious emails, particularly those with political content. IT staff should conduct regular phishing simulations to test and reinforce employee best practices and to create a culture of cyber resilience awareness, where employees feel empowered to report potential threats without fear of reprimand.
- Robust email security – Deploy advanced email security solutions capable of identifying and quarantining potential threats before they reach employee inboxes. Additionally, protocols like domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance, sender policy frameworks and domain keys identified mail can reduce the risk of email spoofing, while AI-powered email filtering systems can detect subtle anomalies in message content and sender behavior.
- Network segmentation and access control – Properly segmenting networks can limit the potential spread of ransomware. Implementing least-privilege access controls also helps ensure employees have access only to the data and systems necessary for their roles.
- Comprehensive backup and recovery – Backup and recovery is your last line of defense against threats like ransomware. Maintain up-to-date, clean backups of critical data and systems and ensure you can efficiently and effectively recover from them. All the backups in the world do no good if you can’t recover them. IT leaders should consider AI-powered data protection along with a 3-2-1 backup strategy: at least three copies of backup data on at least two different media with at least one copy stored off-site and on immutable storage.
- Incident response planning – Develop and regularly update a detailed incident response plan that outlines steps to take in the event of a ransomware attack. Tabletop exercises should be conducted to familiarize key personnel with their roles and responsibilities during and after an incident, while partnerships with cyber resilience firms and legal cybersecurity counsel should be formed before a crisis occurs.
- Endpoint protection monitoring – Deploy and maintain up-to-date endpoint protection software on all devices that access company resources. Endpoint detection and response solutions that can quickly identify and contain potential threats should be implemented as part of a zero-trust security model, which assumes no user or device is trustworthy.
- Policy enforcement – Develop and enforce clear policies regarding the use of work devices for personal activities, especially during sensitive times like elections. These should include stricter controls on non-work-related web browsing and email use during high-risk periods.
The convergence of personal political passion and access to critical company networks creates a potent risk that organizations cannot afford to ignore. As we move toward November, businesses must remain vigilant and proactive in their cyber resilience. Leaders should also view this period not just as a time of increased risk, but as an opportunity to strengthen their overall security posture. The steps outlined here to combat election-related ransomware threats will serve organizations long after the polls close, too, creating a more resilient and secure business environment now and in the future.
