The hearing also addressed the risk of adversaries hacking into state or local election systems to alter the vote or undermine trust in the election outcome. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, stated that the federal government has been working closely with state and local election officials to ensure the 2024 election is the most secure ever. Despite the challenges, officials maintain that American democracy has successfully weathered significant stress tests since 2020.
Key takeaways:
- Top security officials have warned that America’s foreign adversaries will again seek to influence the upcoming U.S. elections, using artificial intelligence to spread online disinformation and mislead voters.
- The U.S. has improved its ability to safeguard election security and combat foreign disinformation campaigns since 2016, according to U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
- Russia, China, and Iran are the main actors looking to interfere with the 2024 election, but other nations or even domestic groups could also mount disinformation campaigns due to advances in technology.
- The hearing on foreign threats to the election also covered the risk of adversaries hacking into state or local election systems, but Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, assured that the federal government is working closely with state and local election officials to ensure the 2024 election is the most secure ever.