(This is part two in our "Understanding the Election Cybersecurity Landscape" series.)
State-sponsored actors play a critical role in election interference, employing a range of tactics to undermine the integrity of the electoral process. These actors, often backed by powerful nations like Russia, China, and Iran, have the resources and motivation to conduct sophisticated attacks that can erode public trust in elections.
Tactics and Techniques
State-sponsored actors engage in various activities interfering with elections, including cyberespionage, disinformation campaigns, and direct attacks on election infrastructure. Cyberespionage involves the theft of sensitive information, such as voter data or campaign communications, which can be used to influence public opinion or blackmail candidates. Disinformation campaigns, often conducted through social media, aim to spread false or misleading information to manipulate voter perceptions and sow discord. For example, Russia has been known to use fake personas and highly networked accounts to spread hyper-partisan themes effectively and quickly.
Direct attacks on election infrastructure are also a concern, as they can disrupt the voting process and undermine the integrity of election results. This includes attempts to gain physical or digital access to election systems, which can compromise their confidentiality, availability, or integrity. For instance, the Justice Department recently indicted two Russian propagandists associated with the state-funded media outlet RT for allegedly engaging in money laundering and channeling nearly $10 million to a right-leaning media organization.
We've also seen evidence of a recent suspected Iranian attack against the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, potentially resulting in the theft of internal campaign documents. The FBI is investigating the matter, as well as attempts to infiltrate President Joe Biden's reelection campaign, which became Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign after Biden dropped out of the race.
Impact and Implications
The activities of state-sponsored actors in election interference have significant implications for democratic societies. By undermining public trust in the electoral process, these actors can erode the legitimacy of governments and create social divisions. For example, research suggests that election interference campaigns can intensify internal divisions within a target state, making it harder for the political establishment to agree on priorities, implement policy, and respond to challenges from foreign actors.
Countermeasures
To counter the threats posed by state-sponsored actors, it is essential to understand their methods and recognize the signs of such interference. This includes investing in cybersecurity efforts for political campaigns, encouraging social media companies to remove deceptive or hateful posts, and passing legislation requiring online political ads to adhere to certain standards of truthfulness. Additionally, election officials should take steps to harden infrastructure against common attacks, utilize account security tools, and rehearse incident response plans.
What Can You Do?
Understanding the methods of state-sponsored actors and recognizing the signs of such interference is crucial in developing robust defenses. By investing in cybersecurity, promoting transparency in political advertising, and enhancing election infrastructure security, we can mitigate the risks posed by these actors and protect the integrity of democratic elections.
We've put together the following list of resources to help folks further understand and defend against this very real and present threat:
- Election Cybersecurity Landscape: The global election cybersecurity landscape is characterized by diverse targets, tactics, and threats, with state-sponsored actors posing the most serious cybersecurity risk to elections.
- Hybrid Warfare: Election interference is often a key tactic of hybrid warfare campaigns, which seek to exacerbate internal divisions within a target state through tactics such as disinformation and cyberattacks.
- Election Security Measures: Election officials should take steps to harden infrastructure against common attacks, utilize account security tools, and rehearse incident response plans to protect against cyber, physical, and operational security risks.
- Countering Foreign Interference: Countering foreign interference in U.S. elections requires understanding how adversaries exploit fault lines within society and using strategies such as collecting open-source intelligence on social media and releasing public service announcements to warn about strategic threats.
Recent Influence Operations: Recent foreign influence operations have been identified, including those perpetrated by Russia, China, and Iran, which have been accused of conducting complex campaigns to manipulate U.S. politics.
