Our picksFace Masks & Facial Recognition | National Cyber Director | Hacking COVID-19 Researchers, and more

Homeland Security Fears Widespread Mask-Wearing Will Break Facial Recognition Software (Matthew Rozsa, Salon)
The revelation originates from a leaked bulletin in a trove of hacked documents from law enforcement agencies.

U.K.“Almost Certain” that 2019 Election Was Target of Russian Disinformation Operation (Jeff Stone, Cyberscoop)
British officials expressed confidence that Russian operatives tried to interfere in the U.K.’s most recent general election by using social media to promote documents that were stolen and leaked from the government. Dominic Raab, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, said in a statement Thursday that “it is almost certain that Russian actors” aimed to intervene in the 2019 election in which Boris Johnson defeated Jeremy Corbyn in the race for prime minister. The campaign utilized “illicitly acquired” government documents about the U.K.-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which were posted on Reddit and promoted elsewhere in an apparent attempt to influence potential voters’ opinions.

Russia’s Previous Links to Major Cyberattacks (Martyn Landi, Yahoo Finance)
The revelations from the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) that Russian-backed hackers targeted U.K. researchers working on a coronavirus vaccine is the latest instance of Russia being linked to cyberattacks.

Who’s Going to Derail the U.S. Presidential Election? The Culprit May Be Close to Home (Deirdre Shesgreen and Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY)
Fearing nightmare scenarios such as attacks on voter registration databases and state websites tallying results, U.S. officials are leading simulated training exercises to get ready for Nov. 3. The “tabletop exercises,” to be held virtually because of coronavirus, will include thousands of state and local election officials in addition to intelligence and cybersecurity officials in Washington amid concerns about threats from Russia, China and other countries.

Establishing a National Cyber Director Would Be a Mistake (Philip R. Reitinger, Lawfare)
Cybersecurity is essential to the national and economic security of the United States, but establishing a national cyber director will solve few problems and create many, including confusion over roles and responsibilities and redundant layers of bureaucratic review.

U.S., U.K. Officials Call for Russia to Stop Hacking COVID-19 Researchers (Mariam Baksh, Defense One)
“It is completely unacceptable that the Russian Intelligence Services are targeting those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic,” a British official said.