FBI warns of foreign information manipulation, but says voting disruption 'unlikely'

The FBI reports "foreign actors" are likely to use "information manipulation tactics" leading up to the general elections Tuesday, Nov. 8.

This information came in a joint news release from the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). In a second release, the two agencies report it unlikely malicious cyber activity against election infrastructure will disrupt or prevent voting.

The release states foreign actors may intensify efforts to influence outcomes of the 2022 midterm elections by circulating or amplifying reports of real or alleged malicious cyber activity on election infrastructure.

The release goes on to state the FBI and CISA have no reporting to suggest cyber activity has ever prevented a registered voter from casting a ballot, compromised the integrity of any ballots cast, or affected the accuracy of voter registration information. Any attempts tracked by FBI and CISA have remained localized and were blocked or successfully mitigated with minimal or no disruption to election processes.

The agencies warn, as with previous election cycles, foreign actors continue to knowingly spread false claims regarding voter suppression, voter or ballot fraud and election infrastructure to promote social discord and distrust in U.S. democratic processes and institutions. Such claims attempt to influence public opinion of the elections' legitimacy and may include attempts to incite violence.

These actors use spoofed websites, emails, text messages, and fake online personas on U.S. and foreign social media platforms to spread and amplify false claims such as voter registration data being "hacked" or "leaked." There is no information suggesting any cyber activity has impacted voter registration information, prevented a registered voter from casting a ballot, or compromised the integrity of any ballots cast.

The release states the public should be aware election officials use a variety of technological, physical, and procedural controls to mitigate the likelihood of malicious cyber activity (e.g., phishing, ransomware, denial of service, or domain spoofing) affecting systems or data that would alter votes or otherwise disrupt or prevent voting.

Given the extensive safeguards in place and distributed nature of election infrastructure, the FBI and CISA continue to assess that attempts to manipulate votes at scale would be difficult to conduct undetected, the release says.

The FBI and CISA urge the American public to critically evaluate the sources of the information they consume and to seek out reliable and verified information from trusted sources, such as state and local election officials and reputable news media. The FBI and CISA will continue to quickly respond to potential threats, by seeking to engage with state and local officials and the public when possible.

Anyone with questions regarding the news releases may contact the FBI and CISA at www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field.