Less than 100 days are left before the start of the US presidential elections, and the US authorities have announced that they are ready to pay $10 000 000 for any information about people working for foreign governments and preparing cyberattacks for the upcoming elections.
Namely, they try to protect employees of the US election commissions, the US electoral infrastructure, voting machines, as well as the headquarters of candidates and their employees.
“The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who works with or for a foreign government for the purpose of interfering with U.S. elections through certain illegal cyber activities”, — reports the U.S. Department of State.
Representatives of the US Department of State note that the award is valid for any information about any form of hacking, for example, it also applies to elections held at the federal, state or local level.
“Our external adversaries can use malicious cyber operations aimed at electoral infrastructure (including voter registration databases and voting machines) to disrupt elections in the United States. Such adversaries can conduct malicious cyber operations against political organizations or US campaigns to steal confidential information, and then leak this data in order to discredit political organizations or candidates”, — wrote State Department officials.
Individuals engaging in malicious cyber operations targeting electoral or electoral infrastructure may be subject to prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act 18 of the United States, § 1030 of which criminalizes unauthorized computer intrusions and other forms of computer-related fraud. Among other offenses, the law prohibits unauthorized access to computers to obtain information and transfer it to unauthorized recipients.
“We encourage anyone with information on foreign interference in the US elections to contact the Rewards for Justice office via the website or email ([email protected]) or contact a regional security officer at the nearest embassy or consulate USA”, – said the American authorities.
Additionally, the U.S. The Department of State revealed that the Rewards for Justice Program has existed since 1984 and has paid more than $150 million to over 100 people around the world who have provided actionable information that helped prevent terrorism, hold terrorist leaders accountable and eliminate threats to the US national security.
While you are thinking about how to save the American elections and make 10 million, read about the top 10 software vulnerabilities, most often exploited over the past 5 years, about which talked the US authorities.
