The FBI and CISA issued a statement yesterday regarding disinformation campaigns targeting the upcoming U.S. presidential election. According to the two agencies, malicious actors are spreading fake news that electoral systems and voter registration databases have . These disinformation campaigns are aimed at manipulating public opinion, sowing discord, discrediting the democratic electoral process, and undermining public trust in U.S. institutions.
The FBI and CISA note that while hackers have obtained voter registration information in recent years, the acquisition of this data has not affected the voting process or the results of elections. Furthermore, the FBI and CISA have no information to suggest that any hack of U.S. election infrastructure has prevented an election from taking place or a registered voter from casting a vote, nor has it compromised the accuracy of voter registration information or the integrity of any voters.
After all, anyone can access U.S. voter registration information from most states' publicly available voter search pages.
In addition, both agencies urge American citizens to evaluate the sources of the information they obtain and to seek reliable and verified information.
The FBI and CISA are providing the following recommendations to American citizens so they can identify disinformation campaigns that talk about hacks into US election infrastructure and voter information:
- Seek information from reliable sources, verify who created and reproduced the content, and consider their intent.
- Rely on state and local election officials for information about voter registration databases and voting systems.
- Be wary of unverified claims.
- Verify any reports of breaches and consider seeking out other reliable sources before sharing this information via social media or other means.
- Report potential election-related crimes , such as misinformation about how, when, or where to vote, to the FBI
- If necessary, use in- platform tools offered by social media companies to report suspicious posts that appear to be spreading false or inconsistent information about voter information or voting systems.
According to CISA, this announcement is part of a series of warnings about threats against the 2020 elections, aimed at allowing the American public to be suspicious of possible incidents of this nature.
It follows two other announcements detailing how efforts to hack election infrastructure could slow, but not prevent, voting efforts, while also addressing the spread of misinformation about the 2020 election results.
In August, William Evanina, director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), shared information about actual and ongoing election interference efforts linked to China, Russia , and Iran ahead of the 2020 U.S. election. Evanina noted that ahead of the upcoming U.S. election, foreign states continue to try to influence the preferences and perspectives of U.S. voters, change U.S. policies, increase discord, and undermine the American people’s trust in the democratic process. They may also seek to compromise the country’s election infrastructure, with the goal of interfering with the voting process, stealing sensitive data, or challenging the validity of election results.
Earlier this year, the FBI also announced a change in policy, requiring early notification of state officials of potential cyber threats to U.S. election infrastructure.
Microsoft also warned earlier this month about government hacking groups targeting organizations and individuals associated with the Trump and Biden election campaigns.
