UK Electoral Commission Hack

Overview

An unnamed nation-state's Electoral Commission suffered a significant data breach, exposing the personal data of 40 million registered voters. The breach, attributed to a Chinese APT group, exploited a zero-day vulnerability known as 'ProxyNotShell' and remained undetected for over a year.

Vulnerability Details

In October 2022, the Electoral Commission detected unauthorized access to its systems. However, the breach had started in August 2021. The attackers exploited a zero-day vulnerability called 'ProxyNotShell' to gain access. The breach affected email systems and voter registration data, prompting a security response from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre and the Information Commissioner's Office. The UK and US governments later sanctioned Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology, linking it to the attack.

Resources

Relevant articles and reports on the Electoral Commission hack.

Review Questions

What is the primary responsibility of the Electoral Commission?
When was the Electoral Commission data breach first detected?
How many registered voters' data was compromised in the breach?
What was the initial entry point for the cyberattack?
Which organization responded to the security breach and provided support to the Electoral Commission?
What is one of the key lessons learned from the breach?