By Fran Villalba Segarra. Fact-Checked by Irfan Ahmad.
On November 3, Americans will file into voting booths to exercise their right to participate in the democratic process. While this right is supposed to come with an assumed measure of privacy, this expectation has been in doubt since the start of the digital era. Ballots may be cast in secret, but email inboxes tell a different story. Campaign newsletters, political donations and petition confirmations can reveal a person's political affiliations, even when they have never publicly disclosed them.
Even if voting records are too well guarded for average hackers to gain access, any email account is vulnerable to a cyberattack, which can expose a person’s political beliefs, who they support, and how they are likely to vote in a given election year. It isn’t just advanced cyberattacks that we need to worry about, however. Email providers and Big Tech companies like Google and Microsoft have been collecting this sensitive information for years.
In our current political arena, the potential for cyberattacks and the unwitting dissemination of political ideologies puts the future of democracy in jeopardy.
In August 2024, Google’s Threat Analysis Group reported that APT42, a hacking group tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, targeted the personal emails of roughly a dozen people linked to the Biden and Trump camps. This year is no different, IBM’s 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report found that phishing was the most common way attackers broke into organizations for the fourth year in a row.
These phishing attacks against prominent members of political parties not only illustrate just how fragile our current systems are, but also how corruptible they are. What if a foreign government or terrorist organization were able to gain access to compromising emails of a highly elected official? While this may sound like fodder for a political thriller novel, it is not far from a much starker reality.
Fran Villalba Segarra, CEO of Internxt, writes about the misconception many have about encryption, saying: “Most people assume ‘encrypted’ means private, but that depends on who holds the keys. Our political beliefs could reveal information we don’t want others to know, but the real question is who else can read it.”
Image: Yogas Design - Unsplash
This is not unique to Google either. Microsoft’s Privacy Statement, (last updated in September 2026), states (currently hidden behind "Learn more" link) that the company can also collect content including emails, messages, files and other media users create or share. The content of Outlook.com emails can also be accessed in response to law enforcement or other government requests.
While hackers represent an external threat to the political process, there is an even bleaker future where the legality of government agencies accessing personal information about those with differing political ideologies becomes murky. How long would our civil liberties be protected once a militant majority gains access to a database for political dissidents?
We must safeguard our personal information better and understand that we are free to protect the privacy of our political beliefs as much as we are free to express them. And in order to do that, we must be more discerning about which organizations we allow to freely collect this data.
Author bio: Fran Villalba Segarra is the founder and CEO of Internxt, a European privacy technology company from Valencia, Spain. Internxt builds open-source, zero-knowledge cloud storage and email with post-quantum encryption. LinkedIn.
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On November 3, Americans will file into voting booths to exercise their right to participate in the democratic process. While this right is supposed to come with an assumed measure of privacy, this expectation has been in doubt since the start of the digital era. Ballots may be cast in secret, but email inboxes tell a different story. Campaign newsletters, political donations and petition confirmations can reveal a person's political affiliations, even when they have never publicly disclosed them.
Even if voting records are too well guarded for average hackers to gain access, any email account is vulnerable to a cyberattack, which can expose a person’s political beliefs, who they support, and how they are likely to vote in a given election year. It isn’t just advanced cyberattacks that we need to worry about, however. Email providers and Big Tech companies like Google and Microsoft have been collecting this sensitive information for years.
In our current political arena, the potential for cyberattacks and the unwitting dissemination of political ideologies puts the future of democracy in jeopardy.
The Role of Email in Political Cyberattacks
In October 2016, WikiLeaks began publishing emails stolen from John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. A 2018 federal indictment says Russian military intelligence officers targeted Podesta with a phishing email of a fake security alert making it look like it came from Google, asking him to change his password. Podesta fell for the phishing attack and 50,000 emails were stolen and released to the public by WikiLeaks between Oct. 7 and Nov. 7, 2016 one day before the election.In August 2024, Google’s Threat Analysis Group reported that APT42, a hacking group tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, targeted the personal emails of roughly a dozen people linked to the Biden and Trump camps. This year is no different, IBM’s 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report found that phishing was the most common way attackers broke into organizations for the fourth year in a row.
These phishing attacks against prominent members of political parties not only illustrate just how fragile our current systems are, but also how corruptible they are. What if a foreign government or terrorist organization were able to gain access to compromising emails of a highly elected official? While this may sound like fodder for a political thriller novel, it is not far from a much starker reality.
What an Inbox Can Reveal
It’s not just hackers that can access emails. Two of the most popular email services, Google Gmail and Microsoft Outlook state in their own privacy policies that they collect data from their users. Neither Gmail nor standard Outlook email provides end-to-end encryption by default. Both services scan messages for spam or malicious content, meaning their providers may be able to access email content.Fran Villalba Segarra, CEO of Internxt, writes about the misconception many have about encryption, saying: “Most people assume ‘encrypted’ means private, but that depends on who holds the keys. Our political beliefs could reveal information we don’t want others to know, but the real question is who else can read it.”
Google and Microsoft
Google’s Privacy Policy says the company can collect the content users create and receive, explicitly listing “email you write and receive” as an example. They also record what users you communicate with. Data that Google collects can map a person’s contacts, including the campaigns and political groups they hear from. And when deemed necessary, they are within their rights according to their terms of service to share this personal information with legal or government agencies when called upon to do so.This is not unique to Google either. Microsoft’s Privacy Statement, (last updated in September 2026), states (currently hidden behind "Learn more" link) that the company can also collect content including emails, messages, files and other media users create or share. The content of Outlook.com emails can also be accessed in response to law enforcement or other government requests.
While hackers represent an external threat to the political process, there is an even bleaker future where the legality of government agencies accessing personal information about those with differing political ideologies becomes murky. How long would our civil liberties be protected once a militant majority gains access to a database for political dissidents?
How to Protect Emails Before (And After) Election Day
Keeping your email private doesn’t have to be complicated. In a few simple steps, they can become much more secure and private.- Use multi-factor authentication. Passkeys and authenticator apps are stronger than text-message codes.
- Check/Verify the source of security alerts. The Podesta breach began with a fake one. Go to account settings directly instead of clicking a link.
- Keep a separate email. Use a different address for donations, petitions and newsletters.
- Delete old messages. Receipts and campaign mail that have been deleted cannot be stolen.
- Use an end-to-end encrypted email for sensitive conversations.
We must safeguard our personal information better and understand that we are free to protect the privacy of our political beliefs as much as we are free to express them. And in order to do that, we must be more discerning about which organizations we allow to freely collect this data.
Author bio: Fran Villalba Segarra is the founder and CEO of Internxt, a European privacy technology company from Valencia, Spain. Internxt builds open-source, zero-knowledge cloud storage and email with post-quantum encryption. LinkedIn.
Read next:
• Ahead of Holiday Shopping, Survey Finds 86.8% Own Fast Tech, 77.6% Bought It Last Year, and 63.9% Do Not Plan to Buy Less
