Tag Archives: elections

Three men charged in connection with the Trump campaign hack

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The US Department of Justice charged three Iranian nationals as part of an effort to hack into the emails and computers used by President Donald Trump’s campaign staff and other political connections.

The Washington Post reported that DOJ officials filed charges against Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi in an indictment filed Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The indictment alleges the three men “prepared for and engaged in a wide-ranging hacking campaign” against current and former US officials, political campaigns and the media.

According to the indictment Jalili, Aghamiri and Balaghi’s "activity is part of Iran’s continuing efforts to [...] erode confidence in the US electoral process." They also face possible charges such as providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The suspects are accused of running a targeted hacking campaign committed in Iran over a four-year period. Their victims include current and former officials with the US State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, the US Ambassador to Israel and an Iranian human rights organization.

Then last May, the three hackers successfully gained access to accounts belonging to Trump campaign officials. (Attempts to breach Biden campaign staff were, apparently, unsuccessful.) President Joe Biden’s campaign staffers as well as news outlets like The Washington Post and Politico received unsolicited emails from an AOL account owned by “Robert” that contained materials stolen from the Trump campaign. They included some internal poll results and the vetting dossier for Trump’s running mate Senator J.D. Vance.

Because of extradition laws, it's unlikely these hackers will be brought to justice on US soil.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/three-men-charged-in-connection-with-the-trump-campaign-hack-191154617.html?src=rss

Iranian hackers tried to send Trump leaks to Biden campaign

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In late June and early July, Iranian hackers sent unsolicited emails to people associated with President Biden's camp. Those emails contained excerpts from materials not available to the public that had been stolen from former President Trump's campaign, according to a joint statement issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The feds clarified that there's no evidence that those recipients replied to the sender. In addition, the bad actors sent stolen materials to news publications, including The Washington Post and Politico. 

The Post reported in August that the FBI was investigating Iranian hackers' attempt to infiltrate both Trump's and Biden's (now Kamala Harris') campaigns using spear-phishing techniques. Feds didn't find any evidence that anybody from the Democratic Party fell for their scheme. But the bad actors were reportedly able to take control of an email account owned by Roger Stone, a long-time Trump adviser, which they then used to send more emails with spear-phishing links to his contact list. 

"As the lead for threat response, the FBI has been tracking this activity, has been in contact with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information in order to pursue and disrupt the threat actors responsible," the authorities said in their announcement. 

The stolen materials were sent from an AOL account through emails signed with the name "Robert," according to The Post. When asked by the publication, they denied that they were connected to Iranian cyber attackers. While the feds didn't say what materials were sent out, The Post says they include the Trump campaign's research on Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance, as well as internal poll results. 

Trump's camp is now calling for the Harris camp to disclose what materials it received, while asking news publications not to publish the stolen information. Harris spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said the Democratic campaign is cooperating with authorities, since some of their people were also targeted on their personal emails, but they're "not aware of any material being sent" to them directly.

Microsoft previously found evidence that a group linked to the Iranian government created a website that throws attacks and insults at former President Trump. But Iran isn't the only country that's attempting to interfere with this year's presidential election in the US. Microsoft recently reported that Kremlin-affiliated Russian troll farms are running disinformation campaigns focused on discrediting Harris and her running mate Tim Walz. These Russian troll farms have been releasing inauthentic videos showing the Democratic nominees in a bad light, including one that used a fake actor to accuse Harris of being involved in a 2011 hit-and-run incident that paralyzed a 13-year-old girl. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/iranian-hackers-tried-to-send-trump-leaks-to-biden-campaign-120017606.html?src=rss

Meta’s Oversight Board separates death threats and ‘aspirational statements’ in Venezuela

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Meta’s Oversight Board has weighed in on the company’s content moderation policies in Venezuela amid violent crackdowns and widespread protests following the country’s disputed presidential election. In its decision, the board said that Facebook users posting about the state-supported armed groups known as “colectivos” should have more leeway in making statements like “kill those damn colectivos.”

The company asked the Oversight Board for guidance on the issue last month, noting that its moderators had seen an “influx” of “anti-colectivos content” in the wake of the election. Meta specifically asked for the board’s input on two posts: an Instagram post with the words “Go to hell! I hope they kill you all!” that Meta says was directed at the colectivos, and a Facebook post criticizing Venezuela’s security forces that said “kill those damn colectivos.”

The Oversight Board said that neither post violated Meta’s rules around calls for violence and that both should be interpreted as “aspirational statements” from citizens of a country where state-supported violence has threatened free expression. “The targets of aspirational violence are state-backed forces that have contributed to the longstanding repression of civic space and other human rights violations in Venezuela, including in the present post-election crisis,” the board wrote in its decision. “By contrast, the civilian population has largely been the target of human rights abuses.”

The Oversight Board also criticized Meta’s practice of making political content less visible across its services. “The Board is also deeply concerned that in the context of Venezuela, the company’s policy to reduce the distribution of political content could undermine the ability of users expressing political dissent and raising awareness about the situation in Venezuela to reach the widest possible audience.” It recommended that Meta adapt its policies “to ensure that political content, especially around elections and post-electoral protests, is eligible for the same reach as non-political content” during times of crisis.

The case isn’t the first time the board has waded into the debate surrounding the role of political content on Meta’s apps. Earlier this year, the board accepted its first case related to a post on Threads, which is also expected to weigh in on Meta’s controversial decision to limit recommendations of political posts on the service. The board has yet to publish its decision in the case.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/metas-oversight-board-separates-death-threats-and-aspirational-statements-in-venezuela-100050434.html?src=rss

Google is rolling out more election-related safeguards in YouTube, search and AI

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As the US speeds toward one of the most consequential elections in its 248-year history, Google is rolling out safeguards to ensure users get reliable information. In addition to the measures it announced late last year, the company said on Friday that it’s adding election-related guardrails to YouTube, Search, Google Play and AI products.

YouTube will add information panels above the search results for at least some federal election candidates. The modules, likely similar to those you see when searching the web for prominent figures, will include the candidates’ basic details like their political party and a link to Google Search for more info. The company says the panels may also include a link to the person’s official website (or other channel). As Election Day (November 5) approaches, YouTube’s homepage will also show reminders on where and how to vote.

Google Search will include aggregated voter registration resources from state election offices for all users. Google is sourcing that data through a partnership with Democracy Works, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works with various companies and organizations “to help voters whenever and wherever they need it.”

Meanwhile, the Google Play Store will add a new badge that indicates an app is from an official government agency. The company outlines its requirements for apps that “communicate government information” in a developer help document. Approved applications that have submitted the required forms are eligible for the “official endorsement signified by a clear visual treatment on the Play Store.”

As for generative AI, which can be prone to hallucinations that would make Jerry Garcia blush, Google is expanding its election-related restrictions, which were announced late last year. They’ll include disclosures for ads created or generated using AI, content labels for generated content and embedded SynthID digital watermarking for AI-made text, audio, images and video. Initially described as being for Gemini (apps and on the web), the election guardrails will apply to Search AI Overviews, YouTube AI-generated summaries for Live Chat, Gems (custom chatbots with user-created instructions) and Gemini image generation.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-rolling-out-more-election-related-safeguards-in-youtube-search-and-ai-190422568.html?src=rss

X’s Grok chatbot now directs election queries to Vote.gov

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Misinformation is all over the internet, including the — at times — chaos that is X (formerly Twitter). AI bots have a habit of adding to it. Now, with barely two months left until the presidential election, an update to Grok, X's premium chatbot, could curb some of it (after being called out for said election misinformation). Grok will now direct anyone with an election-related query to Vote.org, a non-partisan website operated through a partnership between the US government, the US Election Assistance Commission and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

The catalyst for change came on July 21, only hours after President Biden announced his decision not to seek reelection, when Grok falsely posted that the ballot deadline had passed in nine states, implying officials couldn't change the democratic candidate. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon had staff attempt to contact X about the error, to which they received the response, "Busy now, please check back later." Grok continued to share the response for ten days. 

Secretary Simon joined the Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington Secretaries of State — all states wrongly named by Grok — in writing an open letter to X and xAI CEO Elon Musk calling for Grok to direct any election queries to CanIVote.org, another non-partisan resource. They claimed Grok's response, though only available to X Premium and Premium+ subscribers, reached "millions of people" due to screenshots and shares. 

The letter also shamed Grok and xAI a bit further, explaining how its competitor, OpenAI, had teamed up with the National Association of Secretaries of State to provide accurate, up-to-date election information. It also mentioned that OpenAI's bot, ChatGPT, was already programmed to direct users to CanIVote.org if it received questions about the US election.

The update is a start. The bot has also created misleading images of the top party candidates. "We appreciate X's action to improve their platform and hope they continue to make improvements that will ensure their users have access to accurate information from trusted sources in this critical election year," the Secretaries of State said in response to the update. "Elections are a team effort, and we need and welcome any partners who are committed to ensuring free, fair, secure, and accurate elections." 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/xs-grok-chatbot-now-directs-election-queries-to-votegov-114516549.html?src=rss

Nicolás Maduro bans X in Venezuela for 10 days amid Elon Musk dispute

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Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro has blocked X in the country for 10 days after claiming that the platform's owner Elon Musk had incited hatred and "violated" his own social network's rules. "Shame on Dictator Maduro," wrote Musk, who claimed that the incumbent president had committed "major election fraud."

Maduro, who also argued that his rivals were using the platform to stoke political unrest, said he greenlit a proposal by the national telecoms authority to "remove the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, from circulation in Venezuela for 10 days." That's according to the Associated Press, which said its reporters in the country were unable to access X after the proclamation. X does not have a public relations department that can be reached for comment.

While Musk has arguably fanned the flames of the situation in Venezuela, Maduro could be using him as a scapegoat so he has a pretext to temporarily block X and attempt to quash discussion of election results. The president claimed victory in July's presidential election, but the outcome has been disputed.

Independent exit polls and reviews of voting machine data indicated that Maduro's opposition, Edmundo González, may have received twice as many votes as the incumbent. The Maduro-controlled national electoral council however claimed that Maduro had a 52 percent share of the vote with González taking 43 percent. The council has not yet produced voting tallies as is required by law.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/nicolas-maduro-bans-x-in-venezuela-for-10-days-amid-elon-musk-dispute-163049192.html?src=rss

Anti-hate group says Elon Musk continues to peddle election falsehoods on X unchecked

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A new report from the British non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found X owner Elon Musk spread misinformation about the US election and the Democrats’ presidential campaign in 50 posts this year alone. His assertions continue to go unchecked on the platform, not even through its own "Community Notes" feature. CCDH's CEO Imran Ahmed says the absence of these grassroots fact-checks show “that his business is failing woefully to contain the kind of algorithmically-boosted incitement that we all know can lead to real-world violence, as we experienced on Jan. 6, 2021.”

The report cites 50 posts made on Musk’s X account from January 1 to July 31 that made claims about the election which have been proven false by independent fact-checkers. The posts overwhelmingly involve allegations of the Democratic party importing voters to gain an electoral advantage. He pushed conspiracy theories that “The Dem Party goal is to import voters” on March 28 and “Dems won’t deport, because every illegal is a highly likely vote at some point” on February 26. The fact checking website Politifact rated the latter claim as “False” citing the 3.6 million immigrants removed from the US under President Biden’s administration between February 2021 to September 2023.

Around half a dozen of Musk's posts also falsely insist the US election system is meaningfully vulnerable to fraud. He called for the elimination of electronic voting machines because of their “risk of being hacked by humans or AI” in a X post he made on June 15. He also asserted that “Mail-in and drop box ballots should not be allowed,” accompanied by a video of Fox News’ Jesse Waters and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson making claims about the ease of which non-citizens can vote in American elections. Neither post has been corrected. (The Brennan Center for Justice has called instances of voter fraud “extremely rare” and notes that states have “multiple layers of security to protect against malfeasance.”)

One of Musk's posts even featured an AI-generated deepfake of Democratic nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris. The faked fooage features the voice of someone claiming to be Harris talking about how she’s the “ultimate diversity hire” and how she tries to “sound black” and “pretends to celebrate Kwanzaa.” Once again, the post has no community note or correction, even though sharing "synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context media" is in direct contravention of X's policies.

The CCDH report says the combined 50 tweets have been viewed approximately 1.2 billion times on X.

Based on these and other posts written by Musk, Ahmed called for the amendment of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act 1986 to include social media companies “to be held liable in the same way as any newspaper, broadcaster or business across America.”

The CCDH is currently involved in a legal battle with Musk and X Corp. The parent company of X filed a federal lawsuit in San Francisco against the non-profit group claiming it illegally scraped its servers and purposely picked hateful posts as part of “a scare campaign to drive away advertisers,” according to court documents.

We attempted to reach X for a chance to comment but are unlikely to receive a fulsome response — the site effectively dissolved its public relations team under Musk's stewardship.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/anti-hate-group-says-elon-musk-continues-to-peddle-election-falsehoods-on-x-unchecked-194522883.html?src=rss

X’s Grok chatbot is misleading voters about the presidential election

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The US is in the middle of another hotly contested and seemingly close presidential election. This election is also happening in this new age of widespread access to artificial intelligence and easily disseminated misinformation. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon says his office tracked the source of one key piece of election misinformation back to X’s Grok chatbot.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that X’s premium chatbot service is passing along erroneous information about the deadlines for states’ presidential ballots including Minnesota. When Grok is asked “Which states’ presidential ballot deadlines have passed?”, Grok claims Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington “have passed their presidential ballots.” Grok then sources its information to an X post published on Sunday by user and conservative pundit @EvanAKilgore, which does not include a correction or warning about election misinformation.

In “Fun Mode,” Grok repeats the incorrect information and source with the comment, “So if you’re planning on running for president in one of these states, you might want to check if there’s a write-in option. Or, you know, travel back to before the deadlines passed.” Another response to the same question said “These states have already passed their deadlines to get on the presidential ballot, which means they're probably just sitting around, twiddling their thumbs, wondering what to do now that Joe Biden has dropped out. But hey, at least they've got their ballots ready to go, right?”

Grok insinuates that President Joe Biden’s name can’t be replaced on these nine states’ ballots because the deadlines have passed. President Biden was the presumptive nominee until he announced he would no longer seek a second term on Sunday. The Democratic Party will choose its nominee through a virtual roll call vote ahead of its convention and states don’t start printing ballots until after both conventions. Also, Minnesota's ballot deadline isn't until Aug. 26. 

Several fact checks from more reputable news outlets refute the claim that Biden’s name is etched into stone on these states’ ballots. Politifact rated a similar claim with the same list of nine states as “False.”

Simon says members of his staff tried to inform X about the misinformation their chatbot was spreading on its platform but could not reach a media relations representative. The response he says he received was equally concerning.

“[They] got what I can only verbalize as the equivalent of a shoulder shrug,” Simon said to the Star Tribune.

We reached out to X's press email for comment and only received a reply that read, "Busy now, please check back later." 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xs-grok-chatbot-is-misleading-voters-about-the-presidential-election-224839736.html?src=rss

FCC chair asks telecoms companies to prove they’re actually trying to stop political AI robocalls

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FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has drafted a series of letters to nine major telecom companies, including AT&T and Comcast, to ask if they’re actually doing anything about AI political robocalls. AI-generated voices are getting pretty good at mimicking humans and we’ve already seen this technology in action, when an audio deepfake urged voters to skip the New Hampshire Democratic primary.

“We know that AI technologies will make it cheap and easy to flood our networks with deepfakes used to mislead and betray trust. It is especially chilling to see AI voice cloning used to impersonate candidates during elections. As AI tools become more accessible to bad actors and scammers, we need to do everything we can to keep this junk off our networks,” wrote Rosenworcel.

It’s worth noting that all AI robocalls were banned back in February, political or not, but the big telecom companies have yet to announce any enforcement plans. The mandate, however, does give State Attorneys General the ability to prosecute those involved in the robocalls.

Rosenworcel has also been trying to force political campaigns to disclose whether or not they used AI in TV or radio ads, as reported by US News & World Report. The proposed plan, however, has faced opposition from the Republican chair of the Federal Election Commission. Chairman Sean Cooksey wrote in a letter to Rosenworcel that the plan would overwrite the authority of the FEC to enforce federal campaign law, prompting a legal challenge.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fcc-chair-asks-telecoms-companies-to-prove-theyre-actually-trying-to-stop-political-ai-robocalls-184227549.html?src=rss

Robocaller behind AI Biden deepfake faces charges and hefty FCC fine

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A political consultant who admitted to using a deepfake of President Joe Biden's voice in a robocall scheme this year is facing several charges as well as a hefty fine from the Federal Communications Commission. Steve Kramer (pictured above) said his aim with the New Hampshire primary robocall was to warn people about the dangers of artificial intelligence, as The Hill notes.

Kramer previously worked for Dean Phillips, a long-shot Democratic presidential candidate who suspended his campaign in March. Kramer has called for "immediate action" on AI "across all regulatory bodies and platforms."

He has now been charged with 13 felony counts of voter suppression and 13 misdemeanor counts of impersonation of a candidate. The phony Biden voice allegedly urged people not to participate in the primary and to “save your vote for the November election.” New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, who announced the charges, said in February that the robocall reached as many as 25,000 voters.

The FCC has proposed a $6 million fine against Kramer, citing an alleged violation of the Truth in Caller ID Act as the robocall is said to have spoofed a local political consultant's phone number. The agency also proposed a $2 million fine against Lingo Telecom, the telecom carrier that operated the phone lines, for allegedly violating caller ID authentication rules. The FCC banned AI-generated voices in robocalls soon after the Kramer incident.

“New Hampshire remains committed to ensuring that our elections remain free from unlawful interference and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing," AG Formella said. "The Federal Communications Commission will separately be announcing an enforcement action against Mr. Kramer based on violations of federal law. I am pleased to see that our federal partners are similarly committed to protecting consumers and voters from harmful robocalls and voter suppression."

Meanwhile, the FCC may soon require political advertisers to disclose the use of any AI in TV and radio spots. However, chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is not seeking to ban the use of AI-generated content in political ads. “As artificial intelligence tools become more accessible, the commission wants to make sure consumers are fully informed when the technology is used,” Rosenworcel said in a statement on Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/robocaller-behind-ai-biden-deepfake-faces-charges-and-hefty-fcc-fine-201803214.html?src=rss