Security News
A review by two computer security experts of the mobile app that malfunctioned during Iowa's critical tally of the Democratic Party's caucus has uncovered that it insecurely sends data, ProPublica reports. Veracode found that the app was vulnerable to hacking "Because of a lack of safeguards, transmissions to and from the phone were left largely unprotected," it reported.
Iowa's much-anticipated caucus results were delayed after a mobile app commissioned by Iowa's Democratic Party malfunctioned. "We sincerely regret the delay in the reporting of the results of last night's Iowa caucuses and the uncertainty it has caused to the candidates, their campaigns, and Democratic caucus-goers," says Shadow Inc. CEO Gerard Niemira in a statement on the company's website.
US officials and cyber experts warned Tuesday that the voting debacle in the Democratic caucuses in Iowa underscored the vulnerabilities in the country's election infrastructure in everything from hacking to trust-eroding conspiracy theories. The technology problems which have prevented a complete vote count in the first test for the 2020 election were founded on what experts described as a poorly-tested, poorly performing vote reporting smartphone app.
SEE: Iowa caucus app fiasco: How it happened and lessons learned. "Inevitably, the cost of this misstep is considerably greater since damage control and ultimately training staff properly is required, as well demonstrated with the app rollout in Iowa caucuses," Jones said.
Iowa prosecutors have dropped trespassing charges against a pair of penetration testers who were contracted to test the electronic and physical security of three judicial facilities. "The arrests raise national awareness on the quiet war being waged against cybercrime, and the critical role red team penetration testing plays in defending the integrity of public and private sector commerce."
On Sept. 11, 2019, two security experts at a company that had been hired by the state of Iowa to test the physical and network security of its judicial system were arrested while probing the security of an Iowa county courthouse, jailed in orange jumpsuits, charged with burglary, and held on $100,000 bail. Gary DeMercurio, 43 of Seattle, and Justin Wynn, 29 of Naples, Fla., are both professional penetration testers employed by Coalfire Labs, a security firm based in Westminster, Colo. Iowa's State Court Administration had hired the company to test the security of its judicial buildings.
Tales from the coal face as experts reflect on what can possibly go wrong on the job Analysis It has been six weeks since Coalfire's Gary Demercurio and Justin Wynn were nabbed in Dallas County,...
A West Des Moines, Iowa-based grocery chain that also operates restaurants, fuel-pumps and drive-thru coffee shops is warning its customers about a security incident involving some of its payment...
UnityPoint Health Says Hackers' Likely Goal Was Business Email Compromise FraudA large Midwestern health network says a successful phishing campaign exposed a raft of personal and medical data...
