Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

Utah Investigating Hacking of Candidate’s Virtual Event

The Utah Attorney General’s Office is investigating the hacking of a video call hosted by a gubernatorial candidate who saw the call hijacked by pornographic images and racial slurs on Thursday.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office is investigating the hacking of a video call hosted by a gubernatorial candidate who saw the call hijacked by pornographic images and racial slurs on Thursday.

Republican Aimee Winder Newton was about five minutes into the virtual event on the Zoom platform when the trouble began as all 130 state delegates on the call were unmuted, said Caroline Bena, a spokeswoman for the campaign.

The call was hosted on a Utah GOP account, but hacker disabled administrative control, so the moderators were unable to stop the images when they began flashing on the screen, Bena said in an email message.

Winder Newton and running mate John Dougall ended the call and switched to Facebook Live, where she completed the event.

Two investigators have been assigned to figuring out what happened and stopping it from happening again, said Rich Piatt, a spokesman for the Utah Attorney General’s office.

Like many schools, businesses and political campaigns, Winder Newton was using Zoom to connect with party delegates remotely since large gatherings have been prohibited in hopes of stopping the spread of the new coronavirus.

The company and state party did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Related: Microsoft Trials Election Security Solution in Wisconsin

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Related: Key Senate Panel Approves $250 Million for Election Security

Related: Super Tuesday Marks First Major Security Test of 2020

Written By

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Learn how the LOtL threat landscape has evolved, why traditional endpoint hardening methods fall short, and how adaptive, user-aware approaches can reduce risk.

Watch Now

Join the summit to explore critical threats to public cloud infrastructure, APIs, and identity systems through discussions, case studies, and insights into emerging technologies like AI and LLMs.

Register

People on the Move

Checkmarx has appointed Scott Gainey as Chief Marketing Officer.

Jason Hogg has been named Executive Chairman of CYPFER.

HUB Cyber Security has appointed former PayPal and American Express executive Paul Parisi as its Global Chief Revenue Officer.

More People On The Move

Expert Insights

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest cybersecurity news, threats, and expert insights. Unsubscribe at any time.