The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company (CISA) are alerting the general public of false claims that the U.S. voter registration information has been compromised in cyberattacks.
The 2 businesses notice that malicious actors are spreading disinformation to govern public “opinion and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions.”
In line with the PSA, the actors current publicly accessible information as proof of the hacks.
“Malicious actors continue to spread false or misleading information in an attempt to manipulate public opinion and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions,” the announcement reads.
“One of the most common tactics involves using obtained voter registration information as evidence to support false claims that a cyber operation compromised election infrastructure.”
Voter registration information is publicly out there and might be acquired from official sources, the PSA explains, so holding or republishing it doesn’t represent proof of a compromise of voting infrastructure.
When it comes to the sensible penalties of international actors holding that info, FBI and CISA underline that it has no impression on the voting course of or the election outcomes.
As of right this moment, intelligence businesses don’t have any proof of a cyberattack on U.S. election infrastructure that interrupted an election process or resulted in adjustments that may compromise the integrity of the method.
“The FBI and CISA have no information suggesting any cyberattack on U.S. election infrastructure has prevented an election from occurring, changed voter registration information, prevented an eligible voter from casting a ballot, compromised the integrity of any ballots cast, or disrupted the ability to count votes or transmit unofficial election results in a timely manner.” – CISA and FBI
Within the public service announcement, the 2 businesses make the next suggestions:
- Do not settle for intrusion claims with out proof; they could intention to affect public opinion or undermine confidence in democracy.
- Be cautious of social media posts, emails, calls, or texts making suspicious claims about election safety.
- For questions on election safety, belief state and native election officers.
- Go to official state and native election web sites (“.gov” domains) for correct info.
This newest PSA comes a number of months after CISA and the FBI determined to increase public consciousness about false claims made by malicious actors that distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assaults focusing on election infrastructure would compromise the integrity of the method.
Though DDoS assaults can quickly disrupt the supply of some election-related companies, like ballot-casting reporting and voter look-up instruments, the voting course of itself can’t be impacted, and there has by no means been an incident suggesting in any other case.
As the final elections within the U.S. method, scheduled for November 5, residents ought to pay attention to makes an attempt to weaken the general public’s belief within the course of by international actors with geopolitical motives.
