Email and Web Security Scorecard for 2020 Presidential Candidates

DURHAM, N.C., February 4, 2020 (Newswire.com) - FireOak Strategies, LLC announced the results of their high-level security audit of the 2020 presidential candidates’ email systems and websites. This analysis, based completely on non-intrusive testing of publicly accessible data sources, indicates that many of the presidential candidates’ campaigns are not taking full advantage of standard security features. 

“Considering how big of a role email security played in the last election, we were shocked to find that several of the candidates are still not following industry best practices to secure their email, particularly when it comes to preventing spoofing,” writes Eric Smith, Chief Technologist and Chief Information Security Officer, and Abby Clobridge, founder of FireOak Strategies. Many intrusions begin with email phishing attacks, which is likely how the DNC was hacked in 2016. 

Similarly, the research team noted that many candidates’ websites are using out-of-date security protocols and weak encryption. This combination has the potential to “allow a sophisticated attacker to decrypt traffic” to and from the campaigns’ websites. 

FireOak’s findings are accompanied by an “Email and Website Security Scorecard,” which ranks the candidates from best to work based on how they fared in the assessment. “It is worth noting that all of the items we examined are standard features of most email and website hosting services ... there’s no excuse for not having these protections in place.” 

Full details from the assessment are available on the FireOak website:  https://fireoakstrategies.com/email-and-website-security-for-the-2020-presidential-candidates/.

Media Contact:
Abby Clobridge
Phone: 919.408.7766
Email: [email protected]

ABOUT FIREOAK STRATEGIES, LLC

FireOak Strategies, LLC (founded in 2010) is a boutique consulting firm specializing in knowledge management, information security, and information/data management. FireOak is a certified Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE). In 2019, FireOak was named Company of the Year for Knowledge Management Consulting by CIOReview. FireOak Strategies is based out of Durham, North Carolina. To learn more about FireOak Strategies, please visit us at https://fireoakstrategies.com.

Source: FireOak Strategies, LLC