The FBI released an alert about a new foreign influence campaign targeting a wide swathe of American social media users. In a vast, coordinated attack, hackers have broken into the accounts of millions of people no one cares about and posted divisive political content that almost no one noticed.
“We’re all at risk in this new scheme,” said SAC Robert Twillit. “Previous hacking campaigns have targeted an elite few so-called influencers, but there are millions more of us who are truly insignificant that no one will listen to. I know my wife doesn’t read my texts unless I call her to ask if she’s seen them. Any of us could be the next target.”
Cybersecurity experts who have studied the attack warn that the nation should brace for further disruptions caused by this new breed of hackers. As in the 2016 election cycle, the hackers will release private messages and correspondence they have illegally accessed.
“They have acquired a huge trove of personal messages from these negligible individuals,” said Simone Allafart, CEO of security consultancy DigitalChastityBelt.io. “They will no doubt time the release of this information for maximum political effect. I expect to see grocery lists, poems aborted after the first line because the writer couldn’t come up with a single rhyme, maybe even brainstorms about new businesses to sell shoes to raccoons, which would, when you think about it, keep them from digging into the trash.”