It’s a wrap for the US election season and cybersecurity experts. However, the US federal agencies are far from feeling relief as the risk of cyberattacks lingers to date. Election time always witnesses certain malicious activities that aim at overthrowing the basic essence of democracy in the US. However, by taking proper preventive and remedial measures and running constant awareness campaigns, the relevant authorities manage to safeguard and uplift the spirit of democratic elections across all the states.
Even though federal and cybersecurity agencies were on their toes 24/7, the biggest concern was bouts of misinformation trying to create chaos and confusion among voters. Dark Reading ran a poll among its 1000 readers, and out of those participants, around 41% felt the risk of deepfakes and disinformation during election days. While 23% feared data tempering, 20% were doubtful of the state-sponsored threat attacks, and the remaining 16% were concerned about full-fledged phishing attacks backed by artificial intelligence.
Two derogatory deepfake videos that tried to create unrest
Two controversial videos were doing the rounds during the election time to raise questions against democratic election processes. One of the videos showed protestors damaging the ballots in Pennsylvania, while the other showed an illegal immigrant from Haiti voting multiple times across Georgia.
The US Federal Agencies have straightaway discredited all such inflammatory claims as attempts to malign the democratic intentions of the United States of America. Cybersecurity experts believe the involvement of state-sponsored threat actors behind the circulation of these deepfake videos.
They have pinpointed a threat actor named Storm 1516 as the main culprit.
CISA authorities, federal agencies, and cybersecurity experts have been working closely to combat such cyberattacks. Both former and current directors of CISA have taken cognizance of the issue of cyber insecurity during the election times. Experts believe that just like physical threats, cyber threats have equally been prevalent all this time. But the good thing is that with strong security, a solid election system, and informed voters, combating malicious cyber threats has been easier.
Recently, Jen Easterly, the director of the US cybersecurity agency, said that there is yet no evidence of any severe cyberthreat activity that could impact the election results. Meanwhile, she acknowledged that the 2024 elections experienced an ‘unprecedented amount of disinformation.’ She has also added that the current election infrastructure is the most secure ever. Also, the election operators are well-trained and prepared to avert any kind of malicious attacks.
Cybersecurity experts are well-prepared and equipped with the latest technology, security measures, and phishing protection to prevent any cyber incidents that could impact the outcomes on November 6.
What should the voters do amidst the cyber unrest?
Voters are expected to educate themselves about cyber fraud and ignore any kind of misinformation that is aimed at harming the democratic spirit of free America. Also, refraining from mass spreading any kind of digital rumors would be highly appreciated. The key is to identify the fake digital campaigns and discard them to avoid any kind of conflict.