Communications of the ACM
U.S. Voting Data from Millions of People is Being Traded on the Dark Web
A study by researchers at Trend Micro found that data on millions of U.S. voters is being illegally traded on the Dark Web.
Credit: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
An analysis of 600 Dark Web forums dealing in underground trading led researchers at Trend Micro to conclude that data on millions of U.S. voters is being illegally traded on parts of the Internet that are not searchable using normal means.
The researchers determined databases of U.S. voter information, including names, addresses, and political affiliations, could be bought for less than $10.
Similar data from other nations can cost more, because the U.S. is one of the few countries that publicly publishes information about voters.
"If you have a database where you can in some way infer the ideology of someone, carrying out a disinformation campaign would be easier," said Yevgeniy Golovchenko, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, who was not involved in the Trend Micro study.
From New Scientist
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