FBI says US public should take extra care when reading “hacked” poll data
US voter data was not compromised, but be on your guard
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The FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has warned American voters about misinformation campaigns aimed at undermining their trust in the election process.
In apublic service announcement(PSA), the two agencies said hackers “continue to spread false or misleading information in an attempt to manipulate public opinion and undermine confidence in US democratic institutions.”
Among the different tactics being used, one particularly stands out - that hackers managed to compromise election infrastructure. To “prove” their case, the hackers use voter registration information, something that can be purchased legitimately through publicly available sources, the two agencies said.
Russia and Iran
“In recent election cycles, when cyber actors have obtained voter registration information, the acquisition of this data did not impact the voting process or election results,” the PSA reads.
Furthermore, the two agencies said that so far, hacking attacks never prevented the elections, changed voter registration information, prevented a person from voting, compromised the integrity of the ballots, or meddled with the ballot counting process. Instead, US citizens should be skeptical of the things they see and hear online, particularly if they are coming from unknown sources.
Earlier this month, US law enforcement seized 32 websites, and charged two individuals with conspiracy, in a crackdown on attempts to influence the upcoming US presidential elections. This scheme was part of a larger influence campaign orchestrated by Russia, with the goal of getting former president Donald Trump back in the Oval office.
FurthermoreGooglealso confirmed that an Iranian state-sponsored threat actor tried to access personalemail accountsof multiple people linked to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
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Finally, there are reports that Russian president himself, Vladimir Putin, ordered Operation Lakhta, whose goal was to meddle in the 2016 US presidential elections and get Trump voted in, over HIllary Clinton.
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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.
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