Black Hat keynoter DiResta: Disinformation an effective, readily available tool for cyber adversaries

Adversaries in cyberspace have come to realize the outsized impact that relatively cheap disinformation campaigns can have, according to Renee DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory, and companies and policymakers in the coming months must be on guard for “hack and leak” operations, cyber attacks on voting systems, infiltration of groups of U.S. citizens, and amplification of messages that divide Americans.

DiResta is urging policymakers, security pros, companies and the public to be aware of how social media infiltration by...