California Bans 'Secret' Election Bots

California has signed into law a new piece of legislation which bans the use of undeclared bots during elections. Bots are automated online accounts which can be programmed to find and share information based around key words, themes or people.
 
The new rule also applies at all times to bots used for sales purposes unless they are very clear about their identity.
 
But one expert warned it could prove difficult to enforce.
 
Russian-controlled bots were found to be very active on Twitter during the 2016 US presidential election, the firm has said.
 
They retweeted Donald Trump's tweets 470,000 times, and Hillary Clinton's fewer than 50,000 times, the social network told Congress earlier this year.
 
The new bill will come into force on 1 July 2019 after being signed by California governor Jerry Brown.
 
"This bill would, with certain exceptions, make it unlawful for any person to use a bot to communicate or interact with another person in California online with the intent to mislead the other person about its artificial identity for the purpose of knowingly deceiving the person about the content of the communication in order to incentivise a purchase or sale of goods or services in a commercial transaction or to influence a vote in an election," the document reads.
 
"It's a very useful rule but it might become an arms race - can you catch them?" said Prof Ralph Schroeder from the Oxford Internet Institute.
 
"They will have to decide whether to pursue someone, and at that stage it becomes difficult because bots are difficult to trace. 
 
"It also raises further questions about whether there are also positive bots and they get caught up in all this." 
 
Twitter has also announced an update in its work on its "election integrity" project, ahead of the US mid-term elections in November. These include updating its rules regarding fake accounts and sharing stolen information. It said it would now take into account stock avatar photos and copied profile bios in determining whether an account is genuine.
 
BBC:
 
You Might Also Read:
 
Will Russian Hackers Affect this Year's US Election?
« Massive Facebook Hack Exploited Critical Bugs
Secret Military Technology Now On Your Smartphone »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Practice Labs

Practice Labs

Practice Labs is an IT competency hub, where live-lab environments give access to real equipment for hands-on practice of essential cybersecurity skills.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

IT Governance

IT Governance

IT Governance is a leading global provider of information security solutions. Download our free guide and find out how ISO 27001 can help protect your organisation's information.

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Our Supplier Directory lists 7,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

Gigasoft

Gigasoft

Gigasoft provide secure online data backup & cloud backup services for the education sector and businesses.

Lares Consulting

Lares Consulting

Lares is a security consulting firm that helps companies secure electronic, physical, intellectual, and financial assets through a unique blend of assessment, testing and coaching.

TechGuard Security

TechGuard Security

TechGuard Security was founded to address national cyber defense initiatives and US critical infrastructure security.

Finnish Accreditation Service (FINAS)

Finnish Accreditation Service (FINAS)

FINAS is the national accreditation body for Finland. The directory of members provides details of organisations offering certification services for ISO 27001.

MagicCube

MagicCube

MagicCube is a device independent IoT security platform that protects against on-device, cloud, and network attacks.

Worldline

Worldline

Worldline IIoT solutions allow industrial companies to start their digital transformation journey with industrial level cyber security standards (IEC 62443 ready).

Cyber Resilience

Cyber Resilience

Cyber Resilience offer an intensive program designed to help you create strategies to quickly become cyber resilient and to manage cyber risks in a measurable and predictable way.

BlackCloak

BlackCloak

BlackCloak provides Concierge Cyber Security for high-net-worth individuals and corporate executives to protect them from cybercrime, reputational risks, hacking and identity theft.

Deepnet Security

Deepnet Security

Deepnet Security is a leading security software developer and hardware provider in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Single Sign-On (SSO) and Identity & Access Management (IAM).

Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE)

Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE)

The UK Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE) seeks to identify and address key issues that underpin our understanding of Hardware Security.

Teleport

Teleport

Teleport is a remote-first technology company. We enable engineers to quickly access any computing resource anywhere on the planet.

Securance Consulting

Securance Consulting

Since 2002, Securance has empowered enterprises to assume proactive security, compliance, and risk management strategies.

Neya Systems

Neya Systems

Neya Systems, a leader in advanced off-road autonomy and high-level multi-robot mission planning, provides innovative solutions for uncrewed ground, aerial, and surface vehicles.

GoCloud Systems

GoCloud Systems

GoCloud is an IT consulting firm. We provide IT strategy and cloud adoption services to the New Zealand Government, Non-Profit Organisations and private industry.

ViroSafe

ViroSafe

ViroSafe is a leading value-added distributor of IT security solutions in Norway.

Canary Technology Solutions (Canary IT)

Canary Technology Solutions (Canary IT)

A Cloud, Cyber Security, Retail Solutions and Managed IT Services provider for over 25 years, we safeguard and revolutionise business through technology and foresight.