Thotcon 0x6 Talk - Hacking Citizens United. Or, Creative use of Ransomware

Hacking Citizens United… Or,

Creative use of Ransomware

Billions of Dollars Raised…

Barack Obama Mitt Romney

• Campaign: $738m • Democratic Party: $290m • Priorities USA Action PAC: $ 79m

• Campaign: $483m • Republican Party: $390m • Restore Our Future PAC: $154m

Total: $1.107 billion Total: $1.027 billion

All data obtained from the FEC

And Billions Spent

Barack Obama Mitt Romney

• Campaign: $737m • Democratic Party: $292m • Priorities USA Action PAC: $ 65m

• Campaign: $483m • Republican Party: $386m • Restore Our Future PAC: $147m

Total: $1.094 billion Total: $1.016 billion

All data obtained from the FEC

The price of a vote, and voterAs of the 2010 Census, there were about

210,800,000 registered voters.

Number of Received Votes per candidate:

Obama Romney

65,455,010 votes 60,771,703 votes

$5.19 expendedper registered voter

$4.82 expendedper registered voter

Cost of each vote:$16.714

Cost of each vote:$16.718

Electoral R.O.I.

Raised Money

Mitt Romney7.23% Less than Obama

Spent Money 7.13% Less than Obama

Votes Received 7.16% Less than Obama

Cost per Vote 0.024% More than Obama

1:1 correlation

1:1 correlation

With a 1:1 correlation regarding the total campaign fundraising, spending and votes received, elections have

become the equivalent of a horserace for billionaires.

The more their candidate can outspend the other, the higher the possibility they will win.

But if the other candidate also has donors with deep pockets, then the election can become a race to

bankruptcy

Is there a better (and cheaper) way to influence voters or get votes?

This is where I have to say: In no way do I condone, or promote these methods described here after…

Voter Fraud

• Voter Impersonation • Absentee Ballots • Registration Fraud

2068 cases between 2000 and 2012

http://votingrights.news21.com/article/election-fraud/index.html

10 cases491 cases400 cases

74 cases of felons voting56 cases of non citizens voting

How about the voting machines?

• Dozens of manufacturers and models

• Identifying which models are used by which districts

• Getting access to the machines (either physical or remote)

• Identifying vulnerabilities in each machine’s software

Voter IntimidationOr, I have an offer that you cannot refuse…

In Italy, local mobsters offered money in return for voting for their backed candidates. To make sure that voters voted correctly, they required them to take a photo of

their ballots as proof.

In 2008, Italy banned any recording devices in polling locations

In certain States it is illegal to take photos or film at polling locations. But not in Illinois*.

http://www.dmlp.org/state-law-documenting-vote-2012

Scaling? Works on a town, but a country?

• Take something that is of high value to a person, and threaten them.

• Ransomware is built around this idea.

• Voter intimidation works similarly to the “carrot and the stick” methodology.

Distribution

Geographically indexed email lists

Political emails with attachments insulting candidates

False Facebook profiles to access open and closed groups

Botnet rental for spamming: $200-$500 per 1M emails

Infection Rate?

Infection rate varies over time as with every piece of malware distributed online. The distribution campaign

more than randomized spamming, should work similarly to a spear phishing campaign.

The more extreme the political position of the recipient, the higher the possibility that they will open the attachment, and forward it to their colleagues.

What Message?

YOUR COMPUTER HAS BEEN LOCKED!

This computer is under the control of ISIS

To have your files returned to you, you must vote for [CANDIDATE] in your election.

Post an image of your ballot on social media and the number below and we will find your computer and unlock it. Use

#cryptoelection to help us identify your message.

882cfe7d-f016-4db4-8f53-9c6b9d5267e5

YOUR COMPUTER HAS BEEN LOCKED!

This computer is under the control of North Korean Cyber Army

To have your files returned to you, you must vote for [CANDIDATE] in your election.

Post an image of your ballot on social media and the number below and we will find your computer and unlock it. Use

#cryptoelection to help us identify your message.

882cfe7d-f016-4db4-8f53-9c6b9d5267e5

YOUR COMPUTER HAS BEEN LOCKED!

This computer is under the control of Iranian Revolutionary Guard

To have your files returned to you, you must vote for [CANDIDATE] in your election.

Post an image of your ballot on social media and the number below and we will find your computer and unlock it. Use

#cryptoelection to help us identify your message.

882cfe7d-f016-4db4-8f53-9c6b9d5267e5

The Infection rate will never be large enough to forcibly

influence voters

But what about using this as a method to defame a candidate?

“Attack" timeline1 Year before election

1 month to 1 week before electionChoose a candidate to target, activate any

communication servers/chat rooms for malware

Start distribution and maintenance of malwareMalware remains dormant on infected PCs

1 week before electionMalware retrieves target information and activates

Objective of Campaign

Infect party extremists to incite rage or fear

Use social media to spread the news of such a targeted attack

Enter mainstream media news services

Candidate who is illegally “endorsed" by malware creator must respond and answer to such an event shortly before

election date.

Known problems in this talk

Only one point of reference for data (2012 election)

Data used is superficial at best

Speculation

Anyone interested in looking deeper into election funding or have more experience with the FEC?

Who I thank, and who you should blame for this talk

My first Security Oriented con was BSidesChicago (because I couldn’t get a Thotcon ticket in time)

Met @j0hnnyxm4s and @HackerHuntress there and got involved with Burbsec

Thanks to Burbsec members for hearing out my idea and suggesting I make a talk out of it!