You've probably seen this in the news already, but likely not in much depth. Both public and private sector organizations have identified on-going cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns related to this year's election.

This is nothing new. We seem to brain dump after each election cycle, but nation states have been attempting to influence elections through technology for many years now (and in other ways for centuries).

A few adversarial nations that have been noted regularly in this cycle are Russia, Iran, and China. Each of these nations has something to gain from the election going in a specific direction. Russia, in particular, has a long history of being a global disruptor. Going back to at least Catherine the Great, their national strategy has been about sticking their fingers in the affairs of others and stirring the pot to either advantage themselves or bring others down to their level.

From a business perspective, make sure your cyber risk management program is in order through planning, protective measures, and detective controls. Build the preventative measures but also be able to detect when someone gets past those. For most our clients, this isn't a huge concern.

From a personal perspective, take care that you don't become a consumer of the disinformation. And even more importantly, don't become a sharer of it, either. Consider these measures to help keep you from being an agent of foreign influence:

1. Verify the story through other, known reputable, sources. The more easily the news is found across multiple outlets, the more likely it is true. Just make sure the other outlets aren't just an echo chamber referencing each other.
2. Use media bias tools to verify the source. Tools such as Media Bias/Fact Check can give you information on how well the source combats or supports disinformation.
3. Dig into the source. Is it something you've seen before? Is it a well-known and reputable news outlet or something you are seeing for the first time? All sources will lean a little to the right or to the left, but does this lean to the extreme? Extreme views are often prone to conspiracies and disinformation.
4. Does the article seem outlandish, but with an ounce of truth? Most disinformation contains a tiny amount of truth to promote some legitimacy. They usually aren't completely outlandish. Look for that pattern.

Be very mindful of these characteristics before you share anything on social media. When you share links, you add legitimacy to them within your circles. Don't add legitimacy to disinformation.

While the election will blow over soon enough, disinformation campaigns will not. The better you learn to handle it, the better person and citizen you will become for the long run.