“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see” is a quote that has been attributed to both Benjamin Franklin and Edgar Allan Poe. Regardless of who said it, in the run-up to the 2024 election that will determine the next President of the United States, you would do well to take heed. Given the technological advances of recent years, especially with regard to AI-generated deepfakes, I would be inclined to change it to “believe nothing you hear or see that you haven’t witnessed happening in real time.” A newly published warning from the Federal Bureau Of Investigation adds weight to my version. Russian influence actors are, the FBI warned, distributing a video that appears to show individuals claiming to be from Haiti voting illegally across counties in Georgia.
The U.S. 2024 Election Disinformation Campaign
The latest FBI warning about disinformation campaigns impacting the 2024 election comes following an analysis with the assistance of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The agencies came to the collective conclusion that “Russian influence actors” manufactured the video in question, based upon information available and prior activities of other Russian influence actors. “The Georgia Secretary of State has already refuted the video’s claims as false,” the FBI said.
Although election day itself is almost upon us, don’t expect this to be the last attempt to interfere with the U.S. democratic voting process. “Russian influence actors also manufactured a video falsely accusing an individual associated with the Democratic presidential ticket of taking a bribe from a U.S. entertainer,” the FBI added.
Stoking divisions among Americans is at the heart of the Russian disinformation campaign, according to the FBI, and is part of “Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the U.S. election.”
CISA On A Mission To Protect 2024 Election Process
CISA, which describes itself as America’s Cyber Defense Agency, has published a Protect2024 resource site for those with questions about 2024 election integrity when it comes to election officials and election infrastructure stakeholders protecting against the cyber, physical, and operational security risks to election infrastructure during the presidential 2024 election cycle. “For years, America’s adversaries have targeted U.S. elections as part of their efforts to undermine U.S. global standing, sow discord inside the United States, and influence U.S. voters and decision making,” CISA said, “We expect 2024 to be no different.”
CISA has made an entire resource library available for anyone who wishes to refer to it. However, the TL;DR steps that election officials can take to ensure they are as secure as possible during the 2024 election, even at this late stage, are as follows:
- Enable two-factor authentication.
- Manage vulnerabilities.
- Get a physical security assessment.
- Rehearse an incident response plan.
All citizens, not just those involved in an official capacity with the voting process during the 2024 election should keep up-to-date with the election threat news provided by CISA.
A series of “Just So You Know” public service announcements around the 2024 election has also been made available that cover everything from denial of service attacks to false claims of hacked voter information.
Stay safe and make your 2024 election vote count.
