10.3. Malicious Code and Security Risks

Malicious code and security risks present some of the more sinister risks to the election process. Malicious code, such as threats that leverage rootkit capabilities,^[11] has the potential to gain complete and absolute control over a victim’s computer system. Likewise, security risks such as adware and spyware pose serious concerns, both in terms of their invasiveness to a user’s privacy (in the case of spyware) and their ability to present users with unexpected or undesired information and advertisements (in the case of adware).

^[11] A detailed discussion of rootkits can be found in Chapter 8.

We can consider a number of scenarios where well-known classes of malicious code may be tailored specifically to target those participating in an election. Targets may range from candidates and campaign officials to voters themselves. In discussing these risks we begin with what we consider the less serious category of security risks; we then move into the more serious, insidious category of malicious code.