MP warns of cybersecurity threats

It appears politicians are no safer on the World Wide Web than anyone else.

Oshawa Conservative MP Colin Carrie says he recently became aware of a bogus account attempting to impersonate him on Facebook.

“A constituent messaged my Facebook page to let me know that a fake account was impersonating me on Facebook’s Messenger platform, however, she was not the only one. Other constituents have received messages on the same platform, from the same fake account,” Carrie said in a media release.
Carrie says he’s not the only Member of Parliament targeted by these impersonator accounts, as other Conservative and Liberal politicians were also targeted.

Carrie said he is particularly disturbed because there is a federal election scheduled for later this year.

“This is an election year, and politicians, candidates, staff, and campaign volunteers of all stripes are at risk of this,” he states in the media release. “As we move closer into an election, these incidents will get more common. This serves us as a good reminder that staying up to date on cybersecurity issues is important.”

Most elected officials and candidates will have a blue check-mark on their accounts. This means that the account has been officially verified by the social media platform, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Carrie also encourages his constituents to protect themselves online through steps such as not using similar or the same passwords across online platforms, do not store passwords on an electronic device, and use two-factor authentication when available.