The FBI is currently investigating a situation involving the misuse of stolen voter data from 35 million Americans across nineteen states on the Dark Web. As of now, the intended use of the data is unknown but the data that was stolen is apparently available for purchase from the individual states to begin with. The real issue is where the information was shared and the intentions of the hackers that made this happen.

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The information that was made available includes voter’s full names and addresses along with their phone numbers and political affiliations. This is not typically dangerous information but it is potentially harmful in the wrong hands. The FBI believes that the timing of this may correspond with the timing of the midterm elections and fear that somebody that now has access to the information will find a way to misuse it. States have been announcing that all of the information stolen was publicly available for legitimate uses and would regularly be sold for campaigning purposes. This may be news to many people who find that concerning in itself, however it is unlikely that anything nefarious or even particularly significant is being done with the information by those authorized users. The investigators have yet to announce the thief or any leads but they are looking into the forum in which it was posted to attempt to contain any threats from the Dark Web.

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The Dark Web is a broad term describing the portion of the internet that is inaccessible without special tools, known as “TOR Browsers.” The websites that are accessible through the Dark Web do not consist entirely of illegal activities but this is where most crimes on the web occur. Forums for selling private information and sites for selling illegal material or drugs do exist and they are why the FBI is taking this threat so seriously. It is likely that the hacker forum the information was found on is used by individuals who make a living stealing information and selling it to those who wish to use it for some gain of their own. It can be difficult to track user’s movement on the Dark Web, even for the FBI, due to constantly changing URLs and users with private VPNs. Such technology makes preventing these types of attacks very difficult and many states’ voting systems are susceptible to malicious hackers because they have failed to update them.

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It is still unclear of what will happen with the stolen data or what potential use they even present. The technological capabilities of individuals is becoming far more advanced and can compete with even the government’s systems creating vulnerable points. In an age where companies like Equifax and Facebook are given so much power over our private information, there are more and more people seeking to make a profit off of their mistakes. These mistakes are also occurring without real consequences for those we trusted with our information and even the United States government has failed in the same manner. Cyber security has become a necessity for most businesses and organizations today. There is no way to truly stop hacking attempts because there will always be holes in a system but the perpetual cyber battle will inevitably continue.