Here's how hackers could ruin your Election Day


A massive cyberattack in late October took down major websites across the United States. Now, some security experts are warning that another attack could be coming — and this time it might be aimed at keeping voters from the polls on Nov. 8.
Adam D'Angelo, the CEO of Quora and formerly the chief technology officer at Facebook, said that if there is a "rush attack" Tuesday morning, voters may not be able to find their precinct. "Everybody should do screenshots on your phone, or just memorize [the address]," D'Angelo told The Daily Beast. "People who are campaigning, knocking on doors, those people should be prepared."
A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack like the one in October could also disable services like Google or Apple Maps, making it hard to navigate to your polling area if you don't know where you're going.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As for who might try to execute such an attack, D'Angelo said many have the motivation. "I definitely believe it's possible to affect the number of people who turn out to vote. There's a lot of data saying that when you make things a little bit harder, fewer people turn out," he said. And that makes it appealing to everyone from domestic hackers and pranksters to international agents to disrupt the vote.
The best way to prepare for such an outage is the old fashioned way: Find out where your polling place is ahead of time, and commit it to paper or memory.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
October 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being released
The Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia James
Speed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in Chicago
Speed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leaders
Speed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats