"Malicious Cyber Activity Against Election Infrastructure Unlikely to Disrupt or Prevent Voting"
The FBI and the US Homeland Security Department's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) believe that attempts by cyber actors to compromise election infrastructure are unlikely to cause widespread disruptions or prevent voting. According to the FBI and CISA, there is currently no evidence that cyber activity has ever prevented a registered voter from voting, compromised the integrity of any ballots cast, or impacted the accuracy of voter registration information. The FBI and CISA say any attempts tracked remained localized and were successfully mitigated or blocked with little or no disruption to election processes. Malicious threat actors continue to be interested in election systems that store voter registration information or manage nonvoting election processes. Cyber actors may also attempt to circulate or intensify false or exaggerated claims of cybersecurity compromises to election infrastructure. However, such efforts would not prevent voting or accurate reporting of results, according to the FBI and CISA. They will continue to respond quickly to potential threats, make recommendations to harden election infrastructure, notify stakeholders of threats and intrusion activity, and impose risks and consequences on cyber actors attempting to undermine US elections. This article continues to discuss the Public Service Announcement by the FBI and CISA on it being unlikely that malicious cyber activity against election infrastructure would disrupt or prevent voting.