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Election 2020 – Keep Misinformation from Undermining the Vote

On September 22^nd, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued an advisory about the potential threat from foreign actors and cybercriminals attempting to spread false information. Their joint public service announcement makes a direct statement regarding how this could affect our election:

“Foreign actors and cybercriminals could create new websites, change existing websites, and create or share corresponding social media content to spread false information in an attempt to discredit the electoral process and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions.”

Their call to action is clear—critically evaluate the content you consume and to seek out reliable and verified information from trusted sources, such as state and local election officials. Not just leading up to Election Day, but during and after as well.

Here’s why: it’s estimated that roughly 75% of American voters will be eligible to vote by mail, potentially leading to some 80 million mail-in ballots being cast. That’s twice the number from the 2016 presidential election, which could prolong the normal certification process. Election results will likely take days, even weeks, to ensure every legally cast ballot is counted accurately so that the election results can ultimately get certified.

That extended stretch of time is where the concerns come in. Per the FBI and CISA:

“Foreign actors and cybercriminals could exploit the time required to certify and announce elections’ results by disseminating disinformation that includes reports of voter suppression, cyberattacks targeting election infrastructure, voter or ballot fraud, and other problems intended to convince the public of the elections’ illegitimacy.”

In short, bad actors may attempt to undermine people’s confidence in our election as the results come in.

Our moment to act as smart consumers, and sharers, of online news has never been more immediate.

Misinformation flies quicker, and farther, than the truth

Before we look at how we can combat the spread of false information this election, let’s see how it cascades across the internet.

It’s been found that false political news traveled deeper and more broadly, reached more people, and was more viral than any other category of false information, according to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study on the spread of true and false news online, which was published by Science in 2018.

Why’s that so? In a word: people. According to the research findings,

“We found that false news was more novel than true news, which suggests that people were more likely to share novel information … Contrary to conventional wisdom, robots accelerated the spread of true and false news at the same rate, implying that false news spreads more than the truth because humans, not robots, are more likely to spread it.”

Thus, bad actors pick their topics, pumps false information about them into social media channels, and then lets people spread it by way of shares, retweets, and the like—thanks to “novel” and click-baity headlines for content people may not even read or watch, let alone fact check.

Done on a large scale, false information thus can hit millions of feeds, which is what the FBI and CISA is warning us about.

Five ways you can combat the spread of false information this election

The FBI and CISA recommend the following:

1. Seek out information from trustworthy sources, such as state and local election officials; verify who produced the content; and consider their intent.
2. Verify through multiple reliable sources any reports about problems in voting or election results and consider searching for other reliable sources before sharing such information via social media or other avenues.
3. For information about final election results, rely on state and local government election officials.
4. Report potential election crimes—such as disinformation about the manner, time, or place of voting—to the FBI.
5. If appropriate, make use of in-platform tools offered by social media companies for reporting suspicious posts that appear to be spreading false or inconsistent information about election-related problems or results.

Stick to trustworthy sources

If there’s a common theme across our election blogs so far, it’s trustworthiness.

Knowing which sources are deserving of our trust and being able to spot the ones that are not takes effort—such as fact-checking from reputable sources like FactCheck.org, the Associated Press, and Reuters or researching the publisher of the content in question to review their credentials. Yet that effort it worthwhile, even necessary today. The resources listed in my recent blogs can help:

• Don’t Let COVID-19 Misinformation Suppress Your Vote provides online resources that can help you vote safely in a time of social distancing, mail-in balloting, and absentee votes.
• Five Tips to Secure a Mail-In Ballot That Counts gives you a rundown of trusted information sources that can help you cast and send a mail-in ballot.
• Spot Fake News and Misinformation in Your Social Media Feed covers exactly that—and offers several straightforward ways you can fact-check the stories you come across.

Stay Updated 

To stay updated on all things McAfee and for more resources on staying secure from home, follow @McAfee_Home on Twitter, listen to our podcast Hackable?, and ‘Like’ us on Facebook.

 

The post Election 2020 – Keep Misinformation from Undermining the Vote appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

In January 2020, McAfee released the results of a survey establishing the extent of the use of .GOV validation and HTTPS encryption among county government websites in 13 states projected to be critical in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. The research was a result of  my concern that the lack of .GOV and HTTPS among county government websites and election-specific websites could allow foreign or domestic malicious actors to potentially create fake websites and use them to spread disinformation in the final weeks and days leading up to Election Day 2020.

Subsequently, reports emerged in August that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations, between March and June, had identified dozens of suspicious websites made to look like official U.S. state and federal election domains, some of them referencing voting in states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and others.

Just last week, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security released another warning about fake websites taking advantage of the lack of .GOV on election websites.

These revelations compelled us to conduct a follow-up survey of county election websites in all 50 U.S. states.

Why .GOV and HTTPS Matter

Using a .GOV web domain reinforces the legitimacy of the site. Government entities that purchase .GOV web domains have submitted evidence to the U.S. government that they truly are the legitimate local, county, or state governments they claimed to be. Websites using .COM, .NET, .ORG, and .US domain names can be purchased without such validation, meaning that there is no governing authority preventing malicious parties from using these names to set up and promote any number of fraudulent web domains mimicking legitimate county government domains.

An adversary could use fake election websites for disinformation and voter suppression by targeting specific citizens in swing states with misleading information on candidates or inaccurate information on the voting process such as poll location and times. In this way, a malicious actor could impact election results without ever physically or digitally interacting with voting machines or systems.

The HTTPS encryption measure assures citizens that any voter registration information shared with the site is encrypted, providing greater confidence in the entity with which they are sharing that information. Websites lacking the combination of .GOV and HTTPS cannot provide 100% assurance that voters seeking election information are visiting legitimate county and county election websites. This leaves an opening for malicious actors to steal information or set up disinformation schemes.

I recently demonstrated how such a fake website would be created by mimicking a genuine county election website and then inserting misleading information that could influence voter behavior. This was done in an isolated lab environment that was not accessible to the internet as to not create any confusion for legitimate voters.

In many cases, election websites have been set up to provide a strong user experience versus a focus on mitigating concerns that they could be spoofed to exploit the communities they serve. Malicious actors can pass off fake election websites and mislead large numbers of voters before detection by government organizations. A campaign close to election day could confuse voters and prevent votes from being cast, resulting in missing votes or overall loss of confidence in the democratic system.

September 2020 Survey Findings

McAfee’s September survey of county election administration websites in all 50 U.S. states (3089 counties) found that 80.2% of election administration websites or webpages lack the .GOV validation that confirms they are the websites they claim to be.

Nearly 45% of election administration websites or webpages lack the necessary HTTPS encryption to prevent third-parties from re-directing voters to fake websites or stealing voter’s personal information.

Only 16.4% of U.S. county election websites implement U.S. government .GOV validation and HTTPS encryption.

States	# Counties	# .GOV	% .GOV	# HTTPS	% HTTPS	# BOTH	%BOTH
Alabama	67	8	11.9%	26	38.8%	6	9.0%
Alaska	18	1	5.6%	12	66.7%	1	5.6%
Arizona	15	11	73.3%	14	93.3%	11	73.3%
Arkansas	75	18	24.0%	30	40.0%	17	22.7%
California	58	8	13.8%	45	77.6%	6	10.3%
Colorado	64	21	32.8%	49	76.6%	20	31.3%
Connecticut	8	1	12.5%	2	25.0%	1	12.5%
Delaware	3	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
Florida	67	4	6.0%	64	95.5%	4	6.0%
Georgia	159	40	25.2%	107	67.3%	35	22.0%
Hawaii	5	4	80.0%	4	80.0%	4	80.0%
Idaho	44	6	13.6%	28	63.6%	5	11.4%
Illinois	102	14	13.7%	60	58.8%	12	11.8%
Indiana	92	28	30.4%	41	44.6%	16	17.4%
Iowa	99	27	27.3%	80	80.8%	25	25.3%
Kansas	105	8	7.6%	46	43.8%	2	1.9%
Kentucky	120	19	15.8%	28	23.3%	15	12.5%
Louisiana	64	5	7.8%	12	18.8%	2	3.1%
Maine	16	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
Maryland	23	9	39.1%	22	95.7%	8	34.8%
Massachusetts	14	3	21.4%	5	35.7%	2	14.3%
Michigan	83	9	10.8%	63	75.9%	9	10.8%
Minnesota	87	5	5.7%	59	67.8%	5	5.7%
Mississippi	82	8	9.8%	30	36.6%	5	6.1%
Missouri	114	8	7.0%	49	43.0%	7	6.1%
Montana	56	15	26.8%	21	37.5%	8	14.3%
Nebraska	93	35	37.6%	73	78.5%	32	34.4%
Nevada	16	3	18.8%	13	81.3%	2	12.5%
New Hampshire	10	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
New Jersey	21	3	14.3%	11	52.4%	2	9.5%
New Mexico	33	7	21.2%	20	60.6%	6	18.2%
New York	62	15	24.2%	48	77.4%	14	22.6%
North Carolina	100	37	37.0%	69	69.0%	29	29.0%
North Dakota	53	3	5.7%	19	35.8%	2	3.8%
Ohio	88	77	87.5%	88	100.0%	77	87.5%
Oklahoma	77	1	1.3%	24	31.2%	1	1.3%
Oregon	36	1	2.8%	22	61.1%	0	0.0%
Pennsylvania	67	11	16.4%	40	59.7%	7	10.4%
Rhode Island	5	2	40.0%	3	60.0%	0	0.0%
South Carolina	46	15	32.6%	33	71.7%	13	28.3%
South Dakota	66	2	3.0%	14	21.2%	1	1.5%
Tennessee	95	23	24.2%	38	40.0%	12	12.6%
Texas	254	10	3.9%	86	33.9%	6	2.4%
Utah	29	8	27.6%	16	55.2%	7	24.1%
Vermont	14	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
Virginia	95	33	34.7%	61	64.2%	35	36.8%
Washington	39	7	17.9%	26	66.7%	6	15.4%
West Virginia	55	18	32.7%	33	60.0%	16	29.1%
Wisconsin	72	16	22.2%	61	84.7%	11	15.3%
Wyoming	23	4	17.4%	15	65.2%	2	8.7%
Total	3089	611	19.8%	1710	55.4%	507	16.4%

We found that the battleground states were largely in a bad position when it came to .GOV and HTTPS.

Only 29% of election websites used both .GOV and HTTPS in North Carolina, 22% in Georgia, 15.3% in Wisconsin, 10.8% in Michigan, 10.4% in Pennsylvania, and 2.4% in Texas.

While 95.5% of Florida’s county election websites and webpages use HTTPS encryption, only 6% percent validate their authenticity with .GOV.

During the January 2020 survey, only 11 Iowa counties protected their election administration pages and domains with .GOV validation and HTTPS encryption. By September 2020, that number rose to 25 as 14 counties added .GOV validation. But 72.7% of the state’s county election sites and pages still lack official U.S. government validation of their authenticity.

Alternatively, Ohio led the survey pool with 87.5% of election webpages and domains validated by .GOV and protected by HTTPS encryption. Four of Five (80%) Hawaii counties protect their main county and election webpages with both .GOV validation and encryption and 73.3% of Arizona county election websites do the same.

What’s not working

Separate Election Sites. As many as 166 counties set up websites that were completely separate from their main county web domain.  Separate election sites may have easy-to-remember, user-friendly domain names to make them more accessible for the broadest possible audience of citizens. Examples include my own county’s www.votedenton.com as well as www.votestanlycounty.com, www.carrollcountyohioelections.gov, www.voteseminole.org, and www.worthelections.com.

The problem with these election-specific domains is that while 89.1% of these sites have HTTPS, 92.2% lack .GOV validation to guarantee that they belong to the county governments they claim. Furthermore, only 7.2% of these domains have both .GOV and HTTPS implemented. This suggests that malicious parties could easily set up numerous websites with similarly named domains to spoof these legitimate sites.

Not on OUR website. Some smaller counties with few resources often reason that they can inform and protect voters simply by linking from their county websites to their states’ official election sites. Other smaller counties have suggested that social media platforms such as Facebook are preferable to election websites to reach Internet-savvy voters.

Unfortunately, neither of these approaches prevents malicious actors from spoofing their county government web properties. Such actors could still set up fake websites regardless of whether the genuine websites link to a .GOV validated state election website or whether counties set up amazing Facebook election pages.

For that matter, Facebook is not a government entity focused on validating that organizational or group pages are owned by the entities they claim to be. The platform could just as easily be used by malicious parties to create fake pages spreading disinformation about where and how to vote during elections.

It’s not OUR job. McAfee found that some states’ voters could be susceptible to fake county election websites even though their counties have little if any role at all in administering elections. States such as Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont administer their elections through their local governments, meaning that any election information is only available at the states’ websites and those websites belonging to major cities and towns. While this arrangement makes county-level website comparisons with other states difficult for the purpose of our survey, it doesn’t make voters in these states any less susceptible to fake versions of their county website.

There should be one recipe for the security and integrity of government websites such as election websites and that recipe should be .GOV and HTTPS.

What IS working: The Carrot & The Stick

Ohio’s leadership position in our survey appears to be the result of a state-led initiative to transition county election-related content to .GOV validated web properties. Ohio’s Secretary of State used “the stick” approach by demanding by official order that counties implement .GOV and HTTPS on their election web properties. If counties couldn’t move their existing websites to .GOV, he offered “the carrot” of allowing them to leverage the state’s domain.

A majority of counties have subsequently transitioned their main county websites to .GOV domains, their election-specific websites to .GOV domains, or their election-specific webpages to Ohio’s own .GOV-validated https://ohio.gov/ domain.

Examples:

https://adamscountyoh.gov/elections.asp

https://www.allen.boe.ohio.gov/

https://boe.ashland.oh.gov/

https://www.boe.ohio.gov/ashtabula

https://elections.bcohio.gov/

https://www.carrollcountyohioelections.gov/

https://boe.clermontcountyohio.gov/

https://crawfordcountyohioboe.gov/

https://vote.delawarecountyohio.gov/

https://votehamiltoncountyohio.gov/

While Ohio’s main county websites still largely lack .GOV validation, Ohio does provide a mechanism for voters to quickly assess if the main election website is real or potentially fake. Other states should consider such interim strategies until all county and local websites with election functions can be fully transitioned to .GOV.

Ultimately, the end goal success should be that we are able to tell voters that if they don’t see .GOV and HTTPS, they shouldn’t believe that a website is legitimate or safe. What we tell voters must be that simple, because the general public lacks a technical background to determine real sites from fake sites.

For more information on our .GOV-HTTPS county website research, potential disinformation campaigns, other threats to our elections, and voter safety tips, please visit our Elections 2020 page: https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/2020-elections.html

The post US County Election Websites (Still) Fail to Fulfill Basic Security Measures appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

Spot Fake News and Misinformation in Your Social Media Feed

Where do you get your news? There’s a good chance much of it comes from social media.

In 2019, Pew Research found that 55% of American adults said they get their news from social media either “often” or “sometimes,” which is an 8% rise over the previous year. We can visualize what that mix might look like. Some of their news on social media may come from information sources they’ve subscribed to and yet more news may appear via articles reposted or retweeted by friends.

So, as we scroll through our feeds and quickly find ourselves awash in a cascade of news and comments on the news, we also find ourselves wondering: what’s true and false here?

And that’s the right question to ask. With the advent of the internet, anyone can become a publisher. That’s one of the internet’s greatest strengths—we can all have a voice. Publishing is no longer limited to newspaper, TV, and radio ownership bodies. Yet it’s one of the internet’s greatest challenges as well—with millions of publishers out there, not everyone is posting the truth. And sometimes, people aren’t doing the posting at all.

For example, last May, researchers at Carnegie Melon University studied more than 200 million tweets about the current virus. Of the top 50 most influential retweeters, 82% of them were bots. Some 62% of the top 1,000 retweeters were bots as well. What were they retweeting? Researchers said the tweets revolved around more than 100 types of inaccurate stories that included unfounded conspiracy theories and phony cures. Researchers cited two reasons for this surge: “First, more individuals have time on their hands to create do-it-yourself bots. But the number of sophisticated groups that hire firms to run bot accounts also has increased.”

With the sheer volume of news and information we wade through each day, you can be assured that degrees of false and misleading information make their way into people’s social media mix. And that calls for all of us to build up our media literacy—which is our ability to critically analyze the media we consume for bias and accuracy.

What follows are a few basics of media literacy that can help you to discern what’s fact and what’s fiction as you scroll through your social media feed for news.

The difference between misinformation and disinformation

When talking about spotting truth from falsehood on social media, it helps to first define two types of falsehood: unintentional and the deliberate.

First off, there’s unintentional misinformation. We’re only human, and sometimes that means we get things wrong. We forget details, recall things incorrectly, or we pass along unverified accounts that we mistakenly take for fact. Thus, misinformation is wrong information that you don’t know is wrong. An innocent everyday example of this is when someone on your neighborhood Facebook group posts that the drug store closes at 8pm on weeknights when in fact it really closes at 7pm. They believe it closes at 8pm, but they’re simply mistaken.

That differs entirely from deliberate disinformation. This is intentionally misleading information or facts that have been manipulated to create a false narrative—typically with an ulterior motive in mind. The readiest example of this is propaganda, yet other examples also extend to deliberate untruths engineered to discredit a person, group, or institution. In other words, disinformation can take forms both large and small. It can apply to a person just as easily as it can to a major news story.

Now, let’s take a look at some habits and tactics designed to help you get a better grasp on the truth in your social media feed.

Consider the source

Some of the oldest advice is the best advice, and that holds true here: consider the source. Take time to examine the information you come across. Look at its source. Does that source have a track record of honesty and dealing plainly with the facts? Likewise, that source has sources too. Consider them in the same way as well.

Now, what’s the best way to go about that? For one, social media platforms are starting to embed information about publications into posts where their content is shared. For example, if a friend shares an article from The Economist, Facebook now includes a small link in the form of an “i” in a circle. Clicking on this presents information about the publication, which can give you a quick overview of its ownership, when it was founded, and so forth.

Another fact-finding trick comes by way of Michael Caufield, the Director of Blended and Networked Learning at Washington State University. He calls it: “Just Add Wikipedia.” It entails doing a search for a Wikipedia page by using the URL of an information source. For example, if you saw an article published on Vox.com, you’d simply search “Wikipedia www.vox.com.” The Wikipedia entry will give you an overview of the information source, its track record, its ownership, and if it has fired reporters or staff for false reporting. Of course, be aware that Wikipedia entries are written by public editors and contributors. These articles will only be as accurate as the source material that they are drawn from, so be sure to reference the footnotes that are cited in the entry. Reading those will let you know if the entry is informed by facts from reputable sources as well. They may open up other avenues of fact-finding as well!

Expand your media diet

A single information source or story won’t provide a complete picture. It may only cover a topic from a certain angle or narrow focus. Likewise, information sources are helmed by editors and stories are written by people—all of which have their biases, whether overt or subtle. It’s for this reason that expanding your media diet to include a broader range information sources is so important.

So, see what other information sources have to say on the same topic. Consuming news across a spectrum will expose you to thoughts and coverage you might not otherwise get if you keep your consumption to a handful of sources. The result is that you’re more broadly informed and have the ability to compare and contrast different sources and points of view. Using the tips above, you can find other reputable sources to round out your media diet.

Additionally, for a list of reputable information sources, along with the reasons why they’re reputable, check out “10 Journalism Brands Where You Find Real Facts Rather Than Alternative Facts” published by Forbes and authored by an associate professor at The King’s College in New York City. It certainly isn’t the end all, be all of lists, yet it should provide you with a good starting point.

Let your emotions be your guide

Has a news story you’ve read or watched ever made you shake your fist at the screen or want to clap and cheer? How about something that made you fearful or simply laugh? Bits of content that evoke strong emotional responses tend to spread quickly, whether they’re articles, a post, or even a tweet. That’s a ready sign that a quick fact check could be in order.

There’s a good reason for that. Bad actors who wish to foment unrest, unease, or simply spread disinformation use emotionally driven content to plant a seed. Whether or not their original story gets picked up and viewed firsthand doesn’t matter to these bad actors. Their aim is to actually get some manner of disinformation out into the ecosystem. They rely on others who will re-post, re-tweet, or otherwise pass it along on their behalf—to the point where the original source of the information is completely lost. This is one instance where people readily begin to accept certain information as fact, even if it’s not factual at all.

Certainly, some legitimate articles will generate a response as well, yet it’s a good habit to do a quick fact check and confirm what you’ve read. This leads us right back to our earlier points about considering the source and cross-checking against other sources of information as well.

Keep an eye out for “sponsored content”

You’ve probably seen headlines similar to this before: THIS FAT-BURNING TRICK HAS DOCTORS BAFFLED! You’ll usually spot them in big blocks laden with catchy photos and illustrations, almost to the point that they look like they’re links to other news stories. They’re not. They’re ads, which often strike a sensationalistic tone.

The next time you spot one of these, look around the area of the web page where they’re placed. You should find a little graphic or snippet of text that says “Advertisement,” “Paid Sponsor,” or something similar. And there you go. You spotted some sponsored content. These so-called articles aren’t intentionally developed to misinform you. They are likely trying to bait you into buying something.

However, in some less reputable corners of the web ads like these can take you to malicious sites that install malware or expose you to other threats. Always surf with web browser protection. Good browser protection will either identify such links as malicious right away or prevent your browser from proceeding to the malicious site if you click on such a link.

Be helpful, not right

So, let’s say you’ve been following these practices of media literacy for a while. What do you do when you see a friend posting what appears to be misinformation on their social media account? If you’re inclined to step in and comment, try to be helpful, not right.

We can only imagine how many spoiled relationships and “unfriendings” have occurred thanks to moments where one person comments on a post with the best intentions of “setting the record straight,” only to see tempers flare. We’ve all seen it happen. The original poster, instead of being open to the new information, digs in their heels and becomes that much more convinced of being right on the topic.

One way to keep your friendships and good feelings intact is this: instead of entering the conversation with the intention of being “right,” help people discover the facts for themselves. You can present your information as part of a discussion on the topic. So while you shouldn’t expect this to act like a magic wand that whisks away misinformation, what you can do is provide a path toward a reputable source of information that the original poster, and their friends, can follow if they wish.

Be safe out there

Wherever your online travels take you as you read and research the news, be sure to go out there with a complete security suite. In addition to providing virus protection, it will also help protect your identity and privacy as you do anything online. Also look for an option that will protect your mobile devices too, as we spend plenty of time scrolling through our social media feeds on our smartphones.

If you’re interested in learning more about savvy media consumption, pop open a tab and give these articles a read—they’ll give you a great start:

Bots in the Twittersphere: Pew Research
How to Spot Fake News: FactCheck.org

Likewise, keep an eye on your own habits. We forward news in our social media feeds too—so follow these same good habits when you feel like it’s time to post. Make sure that what you share is truthful too.

Be safe, be well-read, and be helpful!

Stay Updated

To stay updated on all things McAfee and for more resources on staying secure from home, follow @McAfee_Home on Twitter, listen to our podcast Hackable?, and ‘Like’ us on Facebook.

The post Spot Fake News and Misinformation in Your Social Media Feed appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

Do you know the difference between Hispanic and Latino? What about the traditions that are important parts of the Hispanic culture? Or beloved Spanish or Portuguese phrases that don’t come across in English?

McAfee’s team spans 45 countries, making us a team rich in cultural diversity. We are always learning more about each other and celebrate Latin culture year-round. To commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 – October 15, we’ve asked members of our McAfee Latino Community for their unique perspective on what being Latino means to them and to share more of the distinctive elements of their country of origin and traditions.

Check out some of the wonderful responses we received:

What Being Latino Means to Me:

We couldn’t be more proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by elevating the voices of our team members and celebrating the diverse backgrounds and cultures that make up McAfee.

Simply put, a welcoming work culture where every team member feels accepted and celebrated is part of our DNA. We value all voices which make up McAfee and appreciate how they further enrich our culture.

Interested in joining a company that supports inclusion and belonging? Search our jobs. Subscribe to job alerts. 

 

The post Celebrating multi-national cultures this Hispanic Heritage Month appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

Cristiano Ronaldo tops McAfee India’s Most Dangerous Celebrity 2020 List

During COVID-19, people stuck inside have scoured the internet for content to consume – often searching for free entertainment (movies, TV shows, and music) to avoid any extra costs. As these habits increase, so do the potential cyber threats associated with free internet content – making our fourteenth Most Dangerous Celebrities study more relevant than ever.

To conduct our Most Dangerous Celebrities 2020 study, McAfee researched famous individuals to reveal which celebrities generate the most “dangerous” results – meaning those whose search results bring potentially malicious content to expose fans’ personal information. Owing to his international popularity and fan following that well resonates in India, Cristiano Ronaldo takes the top spot on the India edition of McAfee’s 2020 Most Dangerous Celebrities list.

The Top Ten Most Dangerous Celebrities

Ronaldo is popular not only for his football skills, but also for his lifestyle, brand endorsements, yearly earnings, and large social media following, with fans devotedly tracking his every movement. This year, Ronaldo’s transfer to Juventus from Real Madrid for a reported £105M created quite a buzz, grabbing attention from football enthusiasts worldwide. Within the Top 10 list, Ronaldo is closely followed by veteran actress Tabu (No. 2) and leading Bollywood actresses, Taapsee Pannu, (No. 3) Anushka Sharma at (No. 4) and Sonakshi Sinha (No. 5). Also making the top ten is Indian singer Armaan Malik (No. 6), and young and bubbly actor Sara Ali Khan (No. 7). Rounding out the rest of the top ten are Indian actress Kangana Ranaut (No. 8), followed by popular TV soap actress Divyanka Tripathi (No. 9) and lastly, the King of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan (No. 10).

 

Lights, Camera, Security

Many consumers don’t realize that simple internet searches of their favorite celebrities could potentially lead to malicious content, as cybercriminals often leverage these popular searches to entice fans to click on dangerous links. This year’s study emphasizes that consumers are increasingly searching for content, especially as they look for new forms of entertainment to stream amidst a global pandemic.

With a greater emphasis on streaming culture, consumers could potentially be led astray to malicious websites while looking for new shows, sports, and movies to watch. For example, Ronaldo is strongly associated with malicious search terms, as fans are constantly seeking news on his personal life, as well as searching for news on his latest deals with football clubs. In addition, users may be streaming live football matches through illegal streaming platforms to avoid subscription fees. If an unsuspecting user clicks on a malicious link while searching for their favorite celebrity related news, their device could suddenly become plagued with adware or malware.

Secure Yourself From Malicious Search Results

Whether you and your family are checking out your new favorite actress in her latest film or streaming a popular singer’s new album, it’s important to ensure that your searches aren’t potentially putting your online security at risk. Follow these tips so you can be a proactive fan while safeguarding your digital life:

Be careful what you click

Users looking for information on their favorite celebrities should be cautious and only click on links to reliable sources for downloads. The safest thing to do is to wait for official releases instead of visiting third-party websites that could contain malware.

Refrain from using illegal streaming sites

When it comes to dangerous online behavior, using illegal streaming sites could wreak havoc on your device. Many illegal streaming sites are riddled with malware or adware disguised as pirated video files. Do yourself a favor and stream the show from a reputable source.

Protect your online safety with a cybersecurity solution

 Safeguard yourself from cybercriminals with a comprehensive security solution like McAfee Total Protection. This can help protect you from malware, phishing attacks, and other threats.

Use a website reputation tool

Use a website reputation tool such as McAfee WebAdvisor, which alerts users when they are about to visit a malicious site.

Use parental control software

Kids are fans of celebrities too, so ensure that limits are set for your child on their devices and use parental control software to help minimize exposure to potentially malicious or inappropriate websites.

 Stay Updated

To stay updated on all things McAfee and for more resources on staying secure from home, follow @McAfee_Home on Twitter, listen to our podcast Hackable?, and ‘Like’ us on Facebook.

 

The post Cristiano Ronaldo tops McAfee India’s Most Dangerous Celebrity 2020 List appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

From June to August, part of the McAfee Advanced Threat Research (ATR) team participated in Microsoft’s Azure Sphere Research Challenge.  Our research resulted in reporting multiple vulnerabilities classified by Microsoft as “important” or “critical” in the platform that, to date, have qualified for over $160,000 USD in bounty awards scheduled to be contributed to the ACLU ($100,000), St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital ($50,000) and PDX Hackerspace (approximately $20,000). With these contributions, we hope to support and give back both to our local hacker community that has really stepped up to help during the COVID crisis, and also recognize, at a larger scale, the importance to protect and further civil liberties and the wellbeing of those most in need.  

This blog post is a high–level overview of the program, why we choose to take part in it, and a brief description of our findings. A detailed technical walkthrough of our findings can be found here.  

Additionally, Microsoft has released two summary blogs detailing the Azure Sphere Bounty Program as a whole, including McAfee’s efforts and findings. They can be found here:

MSRC Blog

Azure Sphere Core Team Blog

What is Azure Sphere and the Azure Sphere Research Challenge? 

In late May Microsoft started a new bug bounty program for its Azure Sphere platform. Azure Sphere is a hardened IoT device with a secure communication link to the cloud that has been in development for the last few years and reached general availability in early 2020. Microsoft designed and built it from scratch to ensure every aspect of it is as secure as possible, per their security model. To put the theory to test, Microsoft invited a few select partners and hackers to try their best to defeat its security measures.  

The Azure sphere team came up with multiple scenarios that would test the security model of the device and qualify for an increased payout from the regular Azure Bug Bounty program. These scenarios range from the ability to bypass certain security measures, to executing code in the hardware enabled secure core of the device.  

Research scenarios specific to the Azure Sphere Research Challenge 

Why did ATR get involved with the program? 

There are multiple reasons why we were keen to participate in this program. First, as security researchers, the Azure Sphere platform is an exciting new research target that has been built from the ground up with security in mind. It showcases what might become of the IoT space in the next few years as legacy platforms are slowly phased out. Being at the forefront of what is being done in the IoT space ensures our research remains current and we are ready to tackle future new challenges. Second, by finding critical bugs in this new platform we help make it more secure and offer our support to make the IoT space increasingly resistant to cyber threats. Finally, as this is a bug bounty program, we decided from the start that we would donate any award we received to charity, thus using our skills to contribute to the social good of our local communities and support causes that transcend the technology sector.   

Findings 

We’ve reported multiple bugs to Microsoft as a result of our research that were rated Important or Critical: 

• Important – Security Feature bypass ($3,300): The inclusion of symlink in application package allows for referencing files outside of the application package mount point. 
• Critical – RCE ($48,000): The inclusion of a “character device” in an application package allows for direct interaction with a part of the flash memory, eventually leading to the modification of critical system files and further exploitation. 
• Important – EoP ($11,000): Multiple bugs in how uid_map files are processed, allowing for elevation of privilege to the sys user.  
• Important – Eop ($11,000): A user with sys privileges can trick Application Manager into unmounting “azcore” and mount a rogue binary in its stead. Triggering a core dump of a running process will then execute the rogue binary with full capabilities & root privileges due to improper handling of permissions in the LSM. 
• Critical – EoP ($48,000): Further problems in the privilege dropping of “azcore” leads to the complete bypass of Azure Sphere capability restrictions 
• Critical – EoP ($48,000): Due to improper certificate management, it is possible to re-claim a device on the Azure Sphere pre-prod server and obtain a valid capability file that works in the prod environment. This capability file can be used to re-enable application development mode on a finalized device (claimed by a third party). The deployment of the capability file requires physical access to a device.  

Conclusion 

This research was an exciting opportunity to look at a new platform with very little prior research, while still being in the familiar territory of an ARM device running a hardened Linux operating-system.  

Through the bugs we found we were able to get a full chain exploit from a locked device to having root access. However, the Azure Sphere platform has many more security features such as remote attestation, and a hardware enabled secure core that is still holding strong.  

Finally, we want to thank Microsoft for the opportunity of participating in this exciting program, and the bounty awards.  

The post Our Experiences Participating in Microsoft’s Azure Sphere Bounty Program appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

How Searching For Your Favourite Celebrity May Not End Well

2020 has certainly been the year for online entertainment. With many Aussies staying home to stay well, the internet and all its offerings have provided the perfect way for us all to pass time. From free movies and TV shows to the latest celebrity news, many of us have devoured digital content to entertain ourselves. But our love affair with online entertainment certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed by cybercriminals who have ‘pivoted’ in response and cleverly adapted their scams to adjust to our insatiable desire for content.

Searching For Our Favourite Celebrities Can Be A Risky Business

Cybercriminals are fully aware that we love searching for online entertainment and celebrity news and so devise their plans accordingly. Many create fake websites that promise users free content from a celebrity of the moment to lure unsuspecting Aussies in. But these malicious websites are purpose-built to trick consumers into sharing their personal information in exchange for the promised free content – and this is where many come unstuck!

Who Are The Most Dangerous Celebrities of 2020?

McAfee, the world’s leading cybersecurity company, has researched which famous names generate the riskiest search results that could potentially trigger consumers to unknowingly install malware on their devices or unwillingly share their private information with cybercriminals.

And in 2020, English singer-songwriter Adele takes out the top honours as her name generates the most harmful links online. Adele is best known for smashing the music charts since 2008 with hit songs including ‘Rolling in the Deep’ and ‘Someone Like You’. In addition to her award-winning music, Adele is also loved for her funny and relatable personality, as seen on her talk show appearances (such as her viral ‘Carpool Karaoke’ segment) and concert footage. Most recently, her weight-loss and fitness journey have received mass media attention, with many trying to get to the bottom of her ‘weight-loss’ secrets.

Trailing Adele as the second most dangerous celebrity is actress and star of the 2020 hit show Stan ‘Love Life’ Anna Kendrick, followed by rapper Drake (no. 3), model and actress Cara Delevingne (no. 4), US TikTok star Charli D’Amelio (no. 5) and singer-songwriter Alicia Keys (no. 6). Rounding out the top ten are ‘Sk8r Boi’ singer Avril Lavigne (No. 7), New Zealand rising music star, Benee (no. 8), songstress Camila Cabello (no. 9), and global superstar, singer and actress Beyonce (no. 10).

Aussies Love Celebrity Gossip

Whether it was boredom or the fact that we just love a stickybeak, our love of celebrity news reached new heights this year with our many of us ‘needing’ to stay up to date with the latest gossip from our favourite public figures. Adele’s weight-loss journey (no.1), Drake’s first photos of ‘secret son’ Adonis (no. 4), and Cara Delevingne’s breakup with US actress Ashley Benson (no. 5), all had us Aussie fans flocking to the internet to search for the latest developments on these celebrity stories.

We’ve Loved New Releases in 2020

With many of us burning through catalogues of available movies and TV shows amid advice to stay at home, new release titles have definitely been the hottest ticket in town to stay entertained.

Rising to fame following her roles in ‘Twilight’ and musical comedy ‘Pitch Perfect’, Anna Kendrick (no. 2) starred in HBO Max series ‘Love Life’ which was released during the peak of COVID-19 in Australia, as well as the 2020 children’s film ‘Trolls World Tour’. R&B and pop megastar Beyonce (no. 10) starred in the 2019 remake of Disney cult classic ‘The Lion King’ and released a visual album ‘Black Is King’ in 2020.

Music Has Soothed Our Souls This Year 

While live concerts and festivals came to a halt earlier this year, many of us are still seeking music – both old and new – to help us navigate these unprecedented times. In fact, musicians make up 50% of the top 10 most dangerous celebrities – hailing from all genres, backgrounds and generations.

Canadian rapper Drake (No. 2) sparked fan interest by dropping his ‘Dark Lanes Demo Tapes’ album including hit songs ‘Chicago Freestyle’ and ‘Tootsie Slide’ that went massively viral on TikTok. New Zealand singer Benee also came out of the woodwork with viral sensations Supalonely and Glitter topping charts and reaching global popularity on TikTok.

Known for her enormously successful R&B/Soul music in the early 2000s, Alicia Keys (no. 6) released a string of new singles in 2020. Camila Cabello’s ‘Senorita’ duet with Canadian singer and now boyfriend Shawn Mendes, was Spotify’s most streamed song of 2019. The couple continued to attract copious attention as fans followed stories reporting on the lovebirds self-isolating together in Miami earlier this year.

How to Avoid Getting Caught In An Online Celebrity Scam

Please don’t feel that getting caught by an ill-intentioned cybercrime is inevitable. If you follow these few simple tips, you can absolutely continue your love of online entertainment and all things celebrity:

1. Be Careful What You Click

If you are looking for new release music, movies or TV shows or even an update on your favourite celebrity then ALWAYS be cautious and only click on links to reliable sources. Avoid ‘dodgy’ looking websites that promise free content – I guarantee these sites will gift you a big dose of malware. The safest thing is to wait for official releases, use only legitimate streaming sites and visit reputable news sites.

2. Say NO to Illegal Streaming and Downloading Suspicious Files

Yes, illegal downloads are free but they are usually riddled with malware or adware disguised as mp3 files. Be safe and use only legitimate music streaming platforms – even if it costs a few bucks! Imagine how devastating it would be to lose access to everything on your computer thanks to a nasty piece of malware?

3. Protect Your Online Safety With A CyberSecurity Solution

One of the best ways of safeguarding yourself (and your family) from cybercriminals is by investing in an  comprehensive cybersecurity solution like McAfee’s Total Protection. This Rolls Royce cybersecurity package will protect you from malware, spyware, ransomware and phishing attacks. An absolute no brainer!

4. Get Parental Controls Working For You

Kids love celebrities too! Parental control software allows you to introduce limits to your kids’ viewing which will help minimise their exposure to potentially malicious or inappropriate websites when they are searching for the latest new on TikTok star Charlie D’Amelio or go to download the latest Benee track.

I don’t know how my family of 6 would have survived this year without online entertainment. We’ve devoured the content from three different streaming services, listened to a record number of hours on Spotify and filled our heads with news courtesy of online news sites. And while things are looking up, it will be a while before life returns to normal. So, please take a little time to educate your family on the importance of ‘thinking before you click’ and the perils of illegal downloading. Let’s not make 2020 any more complicated!!

Stay safe everyone!

 

Alex x

The post How Searching For Your Favourite Celebrity May Not End Well appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

Are you prepared to detect and defend against attacks that target your data in cloud services, or apps you’ve built that are hosted in the cloud? 

Background 

Nearly all enterprises and public sector customers we work with have enabled cloud use in their organization, with many seeing a 600%+ increase1 in use in the March-April timeframe of 2020, when the shift to remote work rapidly took shape. 

The first step to developing a strong cloud security posture is visibility over the often hundreds of services your employees use, what data is within these services, and then how they are being used collaboratively with third parties and other destinations outside of your control. 

With that visibility, you can establish full control over end-user activity and data in the cloud, applying your policy at every entry and exit point to the cloud.  

That covers your risk stemming from legitimate use by employees, external collaborators, and even API-connected marketplace apps, but what about your adversaries? If someone phished your CEO, stole their OneDrive credentials and exfiltrated data, would you know? What if your CEO used the same password across multiple accounts, and the adversary had access to apps like Smartsheet, Workday, or Salesforce? Are you set up to detect this kind of multi-cloud attack? 

Our Research to Uncover the Best Solution  

Most enterprise security operations centers (SOCs) use MITRE ATT&CK to map the events they see in their environment to a common language of adversary tactics and techniques. This helps to understand gaps in protection, model how attackers progress from access to exfiltration (or encryption/destruction), and to plan out security policy decisions.  

The original ATT&CK framework applied to Windows/Mac/Linux environments, with Android/iOS included as well. For cloud environments, the MITRE ATT&CK framework has a shorter history (released October 2019), but is quickly gaining adoption as the model for cloud threat investigation.  

In collaboration with the University of California Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity (CLTC) and MITRE, we sought to uncover how enterprises investigate threats in the cloud, with a focus on MITRE ATT&CK. In this initiative, researchers from UC Berkeley CLTC conducted a survey of 325 enterprises in a wide range of industries, with 1K employees or above, split between the US, UK, and Australia. The Berkeley team also conducted 10 in-depth interviews with security leaders in various cybersecurity functions.  

Findings 

MITRE has done an excellent job identifying and categorizing adversary tactics and techniques used in the cloud. When asked about the prevalence of these tactics observed in their environment, 81% of our survey respondents had experienced each of the tactics in the Cloud Matrix on average. 58% had experienced the initial access phase of an attack at least monthly. 

Given the frequency in which most enterprises experience these adversary tactics and techniques, we found widespread adoption of the ATT&CK Cloud Matrix, with 97% of our respondents either planning to or already using the Matrix. 

In the full report, we explore deeper implications of using MITRE ATT&CK for Cloud, including consensus on the value it brings to enterprise organizations, challenges with implementation, and many more interesting results from our investigation. Head to the full report here to dive in.  

One of the most promising benefits of MITRE ATT&CK is the unification of events derived from endpoints, network traffic, and the cloud together into a common language. Right now, only 39% of enterprises correlate events from these three environments in their threat investigation. Further adoption of MITRE ATT&CK over time will unlock the ability to efficiently investigate attacks that span multiple environments, such as a compromised endpoint accessing cloud data and exfiltrating to an adversary destination. 

This research demonstrates promising potential for MITRE ATT&CK in the enterprise SOC, with downstream benefits for the business. 87% of our respondents stated that adoption of MITRE ATT&CK will improve cloud security in their organization, with another 79% stating that it would also make them more comfortable with cloud adoption overall. A safer transition to cloud-based collaboration and app development can accelerate businesses, a subject we’ve investigated in the past2. MITRE ATT&CK can play a key role in secure cloud adoption, and defense of the enterprise overall.  

Dive into the full research report for more on these findings! 

 

1https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/forms/gated-form.html?docID=3804edf6-fe75-427e-a4fd-4eee7d189265&eid=LAVVPBCF  

2https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/forms/gated-form.html?docID=75e3a9dc-793e-488a-8d8a-8dbf31aa5d62&eid=5PES9QHP 

The post MITRE ATT&CK for Cloud: Adoption and Value Study by UC Berkeley CLTC appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

Anna Kendrick Is McAfee’s Most Dangerous Celebrity 2020

During COVID-19, people stuck inside have scoured the internet for content to consume – often searching for free entertainment (movies, TV shows, and music) to avoid any extra costs. As these habits increase, so do the potential cyberthreats associated with free internet content – making our fourteenth Most Dangerous Celebrities study more relevant than ever.

To conduct our Most Dangerous Celebrities 2020 study, McAfee researched famous individuals to reveal which celebrities generate the most “dangerous” results – meaning those whose search results bring potentially malicious content to expose fans’ personal information.

Thanks to her recent starring roles, American actress Anna Kendrick has found herself at the top of McAfee’s 2020 Most Dangerous Celebrities list.

The Top Ten Most Dangerous Celebrities

You probably know Anna Kendrick from her popular roles in films like “Twilight,” Pitch Perfect,” and “A Simple Favor.” She also recently starred in the HBO Max series “Love Life,” as well as the 2020 children’s film “Trolls World Tour.” Kendrick is joined in the top ten list by fellow actresses Blake Lively (No. 3), Julia Roberts (No. 8), and Jason Derulo (No. 10). Also included in the top ten list are American singers Mariah Carey (No. 4), Justin Timberlake (No. 5), and Taylor Swift (No. 6). Rounding out the rest of the top ten are American rapper Sean (Diddy) Combs (No. 2), Kate McKinnon (No. 9), and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel (No. 7).

Lights, Camera, Security

Many consumers don’t realize that simple internet searches of their favorite celebrities could potentially lead to malicious content, as cybercriminals often leverage these popular searches to entice fans to click on dangerous links. This year’s study emphasizes that consumers are increasingly searching for content, especially as they look for new forms of entertainment to stream amidst a global pandemic.

With a greater emphasis on streaming culture, consumers could potentially be led astray to malicious websites while looking for new shows and movies to watch. However, people must understand that torrent or pirated downloads can lead to an abundance of cyberthreats. If an unsuspecting user clicks on a malicious link while searching for their favorite celebrity film, their device could suddenly become plagued with adware or malware.

Secure Yourself From Malicious Search Results

Whether you and your family are checking out your new favorite actress in her latest film or streaming a popular singer’s new album, it’s important to ensure that your searches aren’t potentially putting your online security at risk. Follow these tips so you can be a proactive fan while safeguarding your digital life:

Be careful what you click

 Users looking for information on their favorite celebrities should be cautious and only click on links to reliable sources for downloads. The safest thing to do is to wait for official releases instead of visiting third-party websites that could contain malware.

Refrain from using illegal streaming sites

When it comes to dangerous online behavior, using illegal streaming sites could wreak havoc on your device. Many illegal streaming sites are riddled with malware or adware disguised as pirated video files. Do yourself a favor and stream the show from a reputable source.

Protect your online safety with a cybersecurity solution

 Safeguard yourself from cybercriminals with a comprehensive security solution like McAfee Total Protection. This can help protect you from malware, phishing attacks, and other threats.

Use a website reputation tool

 Use a website reputation tool such as McAfee WebAdvisor, which alerts users when they are about to visit a malicious site.

 Use parental control software

 Kids are fans of celebrities too, so ensure that limits are set for your child on their devices and use parental control software to help minimize exposure to potentially malicious or inappropriate websites.

Stay Updated

To stay updated on all things McAfee and for more resources on staying secure from home, follow @McAfee_Home on Twitter, listen to our podcast Hackable?, and ‘Like’ us on Facebook.

 

 

The post Anna Kendrick Is McAfee’s Most Dangerous Celebrity 2020 appeared first on McAfee Blogs.

McAfee “Most Famous to Most Dangerous to Search for Online” 2020 MDC Sweepstakes

Terms and Conditions

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS INTENDED FOR PLAY IN THE UNITED STATES ONLY AND VOID IN FLORIDA, NEW YORK, AND RHODE ISLAND, AND WILL BE GOVERNED BY U.S. LAW.  DO NOT ENTER IF YOU ARE NOT BOTH ELIGIBLE AND LOCATED IN THE UNITED STATES, EXCLUDING FLORIDA, NEW YORK AND RHODE ISLAND, AT THE TIME OF ENTRY.

1. Sweepstakes Period:

The McAfee “Most Famous to Most Dangerous to Search for Online” 2020 MDC Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes”) begins at 8:00:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time (“PDT”) on 10/6/2020 and ends at 5:00:00 PM PDT on 10/25/2020 (“Sweepstakes Period”). The Sweepstakes Administrator’s computer will be the official timekeeping device.

2. How To Enter:

During the Sweepstakes Period, visit https://www.mcafee.com/en-us/consumer-support/2020-most-dangerous-celebrity.html (the “Website”), or the appropriate McAfee social handles listed below, and complete the following to receive the corresponding entries into the Sweepstakes:

Action	# Entries Received	Detail
Social Comment – Facebook or Twitter     @McAfee https://www.facebook.com/McAfee/       @McAfee_Home https://twitter.com/mcafee_home?lang=en	1 (per comment)	Go to the website to review the instructions and terms & conditions.   Click through to the applicable McAfee social page(s).   Follow that McAfee social handle.   Find the social posts using the campaign hashtag (#RiskyCelebSweeps)   Comment only on those posts for means of entry.   1 comment = 1 entry into the sweepstakes for a chance to win.   Commenting on any of the sweepstakes specific posts (using #RiskyCelebSweeps) during the sweepstakes time frame allows for an entry for a chance to win the grand prize.

 

3. Eligibility:

The Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the United States, excluding residents of Florida, New York and Rhode Island and where otherwise prohibited by law, who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. Employees of McAfee, LLC, and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, prize suppliers, and advertising and promotional agencies, their immediate families (spouses, parents, children, and siblings and their spouses), and individuals living in the same household as such employees are ineligible.

4. Winner Selection/Odds:

There will be one grand prize winner. The prize winner will be selected at random from the final pool of entrants (commenters) on the applicable sweepstakes social posts. Anyone who comments on any of the sweepstakes posts, within the sweepstakes time period, is included in the Prize entry pool. Limit one (1) prize per person per household. By participating, entrants acknowledge the McAfee Privacy Notice and agree to be bound by the Official Sweepstakes Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor which shall be final and binding in all respects. The odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received.

5. Winner Notification:

Prize winner will be notified the week of 10/26/20.  No winners will be announced prior to this time.  All winners will be notified by the official McAfee Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/McAfee/ ) or McAfee_Home Twitter (https://twitter.com/McAfee_Home) page. McAfee will not ask you to provide any credit card information to claim a prize. Prize winner will be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release (where permitted by law) to be returned within (4) days of written notification, or prize may be forfeited. If a prize notification is returned as unclaimed or undeliverable to a potential winner, if potential winner cannot be reached within four (4) calendar days from the first notification attempt, or if potential winner fails to return requisite document within the specified time period, or if a potential winner is not in compliance with these Official Rules, then prize may be forfeited. Sponsor is not responsible for any change of email address, mailing address and/or telephone number of entrants.  Sponsor reserves the right to select an alternative winner should the first winner fail to claim the prize.

6. Prize:

GRAND PRIZE – Approximate ARV = $900

• iPad Air
• Disney+ subscription for 1-year (includes Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Nat. Geo)
• Spotify Premium for 1-year
• $200 Visa Gift Card

Limit one (1) prize per person per household. Prizes are non-transferable and no cash equivalent or substitution of prize is offered. Subscriptions are subject to the terms and conditions available at https://www.mcafee.com/en-us/consumer-support/2020-most-dangerous-celebrity.html. If a prize, or any portion thereof, cannot be awarded for any reason, Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prize with another prize of equal or greater value. Prize winner will be solely responsible for all federal, state and/or local taxes, and for any other fees or costs associated with the prizes they receive, regardless of whether it, in whole or in part, are used. Since the prize value exceeds $600, the prize winner will be issued a W-9 form to fill out and return prior to receiving their prize. The sweepstakes Sponsor must mail a copy of the 1099-MISC form postmarked by January 31st of the year following the year in which the winner won the prize.

7. Internet/Limitations Of Liability:

Sponsor and others are not responsible for interrupted or unavailable network server or other connections; for miscommunications; failed telephone or computer transmissions; for jumbled, scrambled or misdirected entries or transmissions; for phone, electrical, network, computer hardware or software or program malfunctions, failures or difficulties; for other errors, omissions, interruptions, or deletions of any kind, whether human, typographical, mechanical or electronic; or for any damage to any person’s computer related to participating in the Sweepstakes. Sponsor and others are not responsible for illegible, unintelligible, late, lost, stolen on entries not received; for incorrect or inaccurate entry information, whether caused by Website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes; or for any typographical, technical or human errors which may occur in the processing of any entries in this Sweepstakes. Persons found tampering with or abusing any aspect of this Sweepstakes as solely determined by Sponsor will be disqualified and may be subject to prosecution. Any person attempting to enter using multiple email addresses, multiple identities, any bot, robotic or any other device or artifice to enter multiple times with different identities or email addresses or to interfere with the proper play of this Sweepstakes or to be otherwise behaving in an unsportsmanlike manner as determined by Sponsor will be disqualified from participation in the Sweepstakes. If in the judgment of Sponsor, the Sweepstakes is compromised by virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes beyond the control of Sponsor, which corrupts the administration, security, fairness or proper play of the Sweepstakes, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, discontinue, suspend or terminate the Sweepstakes and randomly award the prizes from among all eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to any such modification, discontinuation, suspension or termination. Should multiple users of the same email account enter the Sweepstakes and a dispute thereafter arise regarding the identity of the entrant, the authorized account holder of said email account at the time of entry will be considered the entrant.  “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization which is responsible for assigning email addresses or the domain associated with the submitted email address. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of an entrant based on his/her Facebook or Twitter account, the authorized Facebook or Twitter account holder submitted at time of entry will be deemed the entrant. Please see the privacy notice located at http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/privacy.html or details of Sponsor’s policies regarding the use of personal information collected in connection with this Sweepstakes. If you are selected as a winner, your information may also be included in a publicly-available winners list.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

8. Release:

By participating in the Sweepstakes, each entrant releases and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor, Prize Providers and others from and against any and all costs, claims, damages, (including, without limitation, any special, incidental or consequential damages), or any other injury, whether due to negligence or otherwise, to person(s) or property (including, without limitation, death or violation of any personal rights, such as violation of right of publicity/privacy, libel, or slander), due in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, to participation in the Sweepstakes, or arising out of participation in any Sweepstakes-related activity, or the receipt, enjoyment, participation in, use or misuse, of any prize.

 

9. Publicity Rights:

By accepting a prize, the winner agrees to allow Sponsor and Sponsor’s designees the perpetual right to use his/her name, biographical information, photos or likeness, and statements for promotion, trade, commercial, advertising and publicity purposes, at any time or times, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide, including but not limited to on the Internet, without notice, review or approval and without additional compensation except where prohibited by law.  Any collection of personal information from entrants will be governed by the McAfee Privacy Policy.

 

10.  Disputes:

EACH ENTRANT AGREES THAT ANY DISPUTES, CLAIMS, AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH THIS CONTEST OR ANY PRIZE AWARDED WILL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY, WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION, AND EXCLUSIVELY BY THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE OR THE APPROPRIATE STATE COURT LOCATED IN DOVER OR WILMINGTON, DELAWARE. THESE OFFICIAL RULES ARE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE WITHOUT REGARD TO CHOICE OF LAW OR CONFLICT OF LAWS RULES.  YOU WAIVE ANY AND ALL OBJECTIONS TO JURISDICTION AND VENUE IN THESE COURTS AND HEREBY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THOSE COURTS.

 

11. Limitations of Liability:

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE SPONSOR OR THE RELEASED PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF PROFITS OR LOSS OF DATA, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR USE OR INABILITY TO USE ANY EQUIPMENT PROVIDED FOR USE IN THE CONTEST OR ANY PRIZE, EVEN IF A RELEASED PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

 

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE RELEASED PARTIES (JOINTLY) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEST OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE ANY EQUIPMENT PROVIDED FOR USE IN THE CONTEST OR ANY PRIZE EXCEED $10.  THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION WILL NOT EXCLUDE OR LIMIT LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE CAUSED BY PRODUCTS RENTED FROM THE SPONSOR, OR FOR THE RELEASED PARTIES’ GROSS NEGLIGENCE, INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT, OR FOR FRAUD.

12. The Sweepstakes and the Official Rules are governed by US law and are subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of the Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of Entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Sweepstakes, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A., without giving effect to the conflict of laws rules thereof, and any matters or proceedings which are not subject to arbitration as set forth above, in these Official Rules and/or for entering any judgment on an arbitration award, shall take place in the State of New York.

 

Winner’s List:  For a list of winners, mail a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: “Most Famous to Most Dangerous to Search for Online” to 100 Crown Street, New Haven, CT 06510. Requests must be received by 11/30/20.

 

Sponsors: McAfee Corporate Headquarters, 2821 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95054

 

Administrator: Response Marketing, 100 Crown Street 3rd Floor, New Haven, CT 06510

 

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