A Russian group acquired U.S. voter data in at least a couple of states. The Iranians reportedly did the same. President Trump’s campaign website was briefly defaced.
As expected, this election season has brought a series of computer breaches and disinformation efforts coming from other countries. So how do we sort out the serious threats from mere cyber mischief?
There’s no easy answer, but at least there’s a catchphrase: a “perception hack.” This describes a relatively small-scale intrusion that probably won’t cause much actual harm, yet it may have an outsized psychological impact once it’s uncovered and enters the public bloodstream via government officials, news organizations and social media.
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