Source URL: https://blog.cloudflare.com/exploring-internet-traffic-shifts-and-cyber-attacks-during-the-2024-us-election
Source: The Cloudflare Blog
Title: Exploring Internet traffic shifts and cyber attacks during the 2024 US election
Feedly Summary: Election Day 2024 in the US saw a surge in cyber activity. Cloudflare blocked several DDoS attacks on political and election sites, ensuring no impact. In this post, we analyze these attacks, as well Internet traffic increases across the US and other key trends.
AI Summary and Description: Yes
**Summary:** The text provides a detailed overview of the role and effectiveness of Cloudflare in securing election-related online platforms during the 2024 U.S. elections. It highlights the significant cyber threats faced, primarily in the form of DDoS attacks, and showcases the proactive measures taken to protect critical election infrastructure. This information is especially relevant for professionals focusing on cybersecurity, compliance, and the integrity of democratic processes.
**Detailed Description:**
The text outlines Cloudflare’s extensive efforts to secure election infrastructure amidst increased instances of cyber threats leading up to and during the 2024 U.S. elections. Key points include:
– **Cyber Threat Landscape**: The text emphasizes the notable uptick in cyberattacks, specifically DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks targeting election-related websites, which peaked dramatically during critical days surrounding the election.
– **Cloudflare’s Interventions**:
– **Volume of DDoS Mitigated**: Cloudflare successfully mitigated over 6 billion malicious HTTP requests aimed at U.S. election-related sites, ensuring no significant disruptions occurred.
– **Specific Programs Supported**:
– *Project Galileo*: Provides free cybersecurity services to protect media, non-profit organizations, and election-related initiatives, ensuring uninterrupted access to vital election information.
– *Athenian Project*: Offers robust cybersecurity measures for state and local government election websites, aiding over 400 sites to access updated voter information.
– *Cloudflare for Campaigns*: Collaborated with campaigns and political parties to defend against cyber threats, enhancing security measures significantly since its launch in 2020.
– **Collaboration and Education**: Cloudflare has engaged with various stakeholders, including CISA and local election offices, to spread awareness and share best practices on cyber threats, thus bolstering national election security efforts.
– **Impact on Internet Traffic**: The text provides data on Internet traffic trends, indicating a significant increase on election day as results were announced, demonstrating how public interest affected digitized platforms.
– **Phishing Trends**: A breakdown of email phishing activity relating to candidates illustrates how significant political events can drive malicious email campaigns, revealing vulnerabilities tied to social and political dynamics.
– **Resilience of Infrastructure**: Despite facing numerous attacks, there was a consensus from agencies like CISA that the U.S. election infrastructure remained secure and resilient throughout the electoral process.
**Key Takeaways**:
– Cybersecurity for elections is critical not only for the integrity of the democratic process but also for public confidence in the results.
– Cloudflare’s extensive mitigation efforts demonstrate a model for how technology can be leveraged in safeguarding vital democratic platforms.
– Collaboration across multiple stakeholders is essential in reinforcing the resilience of electoral infrastructures against evolving cyber threats.
The critical insights from this analysis provide a comprehensive understanding of modern election cybersecurity challenges and the measures pioneered to address them, which security and compliance professionals can leverage in their own domains.