california Election & Business Websites Hit by Malicious Pornographic Links in Growing National Trend
SACRAMENTO, CA – California’s official websites for elections and business registration have been compromised, redirecting users searching online to explicit and possibly malicious content. Google searches for details related to the sites, overseen by the California secretary of State, are now yielding results that include PDFs with titles like “My friends hot mom” and “Japanese Sex Video Porn Videos sexy.”
These compromised links, appearing to originate from the state government’s web servers, are interspersed amongst legitimate resources for business services and election information. Clicking on these links directs users to pornographic websites.
As of this publication, the California Secretary of State‘s office has not responded to requests for comment. The agency is responsible for overseeing the integrity of California’s elections and business filings.
this incident is part of a disturbing national trend. Over the past several weeks, numerous government websites across the country have been targeted by similar attacks.
Last month, the website of the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District in California hosted documents detailing how to create AI-generated nude images. In Kansas, the Attorney General’s website was similarly targeted with links promoting AI-generated explicit photos. Both incidents have been linked to vulnerabilities within third-party platforms, specifically web-hosting partner Granicus.
Granicus acknowledged the issue, stating they are “aware of reports regarding illicit content being uploaded through government websites” and that a “small subset” of affected agencies are their customers.
The scope of the problem is wider than initially believed. Brian Penny, a freelance journalist and AI researcher based in Tucson, Arizona, first alerted The Times to the California links after discovering a similar attack on the Nevada Department of Transportation last month. Penny has since tracked 38 government agencies across 18 states and three countries that have been targeted with pornographic, cryptocurrency, video game, and other unsolicited advertisements.
“This is a huge thing,” Penny warned. “All of our city and county governments need to be focused on cybersecurity right now. If the government’s not safe, how safe are you?”
Beyond the obvious reputational damage, security experts are concerned about the potential for these compromised links to be used for more nefarious purposes. A government employee clicking on a malicious link could expose sensitive citizen data or allow attackers to impersonate government officials in phishing schemes, potentially sending fraudulent bills or other official-looking communications.
This developing story underscores the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity measures at all levels of government to protect both public trust and sensitive information. World-Today-News.com will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they become available.
Keywords: California, Secretary of State, website hack, cybersecurity, pornography, malicious links, government websites, data breach, AI-generated images, Granicus, election security, business registration.
