Security News > 2020 > October > In Election Hacking, Perception May be as Good as the Real Thing
Hackers seeking to sow chaos in the November 3 election are hard at work - but some experts say they don't need to be successful to have an impact.
Simply the perception of breaching election systems could have the same effect of undermining confidence in the outcome and opening the door to discrediting the results.
"Perception hacking can be just as effective if not more than an actual hack," said Jessica Brandt, head of policy and research at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a group created to monitor foreign election interference.
Perception hacking poses unique challenges because of concerns about vulnerabilities in many parts of the election infrastructure, including electronic voting machines, databases and transmission systems.
"Expect bad guys to try to misuse hyperbolic claims of 'hacking' election systems for perception hacking in the weeks to come. Don't fall for it," Facebook cybersecurity chief Nathaniel Gleicher tweeted.