COMMENTARY
Because the 2024 US presidential election approaches, cybersecurity is a frequent subject of dialog. From my time within the intelligence group supporting the Division of Protection, I am acquainted with authorities planning round elections. Whereas essentially the most mentioned threats for 2024 are nation-state misinformation and disinformation, this election season, I am additionally following cybersecurity threats to municipal election programs.
The excellent news is the specter of an precise impactful disruption is low. Because the US has funneled important assets into securing elections over the previous decade, US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company (CISA) lead Jen Easterly mentioned election infrastructure “has by no means been safer.” Nonetheless, that does not imply risk actors aren’t more likely to try some type of assaults, resembling web site defacements or distributed denial of service (DDoS) assaults in opposition to municipal election web sites.
Listed here are the 4 threats in opposition to native election programs we are going to almost definitely hear about in 2024:
Voting Machine Hacking
Essentially the most high-profile risk to US elections is voting machine hacking. Nonetheless, voting machines are hardly ever linked on to the Web, which aligns with present cybersecurity pointers. This implies essentially the most practical risk vector would require bodily entry to the machines, in line with F5 Labs, a priority addressed via anti-tampering and bodily safety pointers across the nation. Whereas cyber vulnerabilities inside voting machines exist — as demonstrated yearly on the DEFCON Voting Village hacking occasion — up to now, there have been no studies of cyberattacks taking voting machines offline or altering votes, regardless of the clear worth of such a functionality to US adversaries.
DDoS Assaults
DDoS assaults are a much less disruptive however extra frequent risk to US elections. Election monitoring and data web sites leveraging Google’s Mission Defend DDoS safety providers skilled a 400% enhance in weekly assaults in the course of the 2022 midterms. Whereas a number of firms like Cloudflare provide free DDoS safety providers to election-related web sites, some websites are nonetheless taking place. Mississippi’s election web sites have been briefly taken offline in 2022 by a DDoS assault claimed by a pro-Russia hacking group. Nonetheless, the assault didn’t impression voting outcomes or availability.
Given the elevated profile of the presidential election, we are able to count on to see DDoS on a bigger scale in 2024. Nonetheless, as CISA and the FBI said in a July 31 alert, these assaults wouldn’t stop voters from casting their ballots.
Ransomware
The FBI and CISA launched an analogous alert on Aug. 15 associated to ransomware disruptions, reassuring the general public that any assault alongside these traces wouldn’t compromise the safety or accuracy of voting. Ransomware teams will possible goal municipalities — already a typical goal — within the run-up to the elections.
As an example, a ransomware assault in April compelled a Georgia county to briefly disconnect from the state’s voter registration system as a precautionary measure — highlighting disruptions that might happen round entry to voter information or different election info. Nonetheless, the FBI and CISA famous, “Any profitable ransomware assault on election infrastructure tracked by FBI and CISA has remained localized and efficiently managed with minimal disruption to election operations and no impression on the safety and accuracy of poll casting or tabulation processes or programs.” Just like DDoS assaults, no reporting suggests ransomware assaults have ever prevented a vote from being solid.
Web site Defacement and E-mail Entry
Web site defacements are one other frequent risk, the place attackers take over election-related websites to change information or photos. These assaults can both goal to embarrass the positioning proprietor or subtly manipulate info, resembling polling outcomes or polling station hours.
In 2020, a risk actor briefly took over the marketing campaign web site for then President Trump, posting a derogatory message and in search of cost in return for not releasing information they claimed to have stolen. Whereas these assaults might happen and will trigger native disruptions, they might not impression the power to vote or tally votes.
Hybrid cyber-physical threats, such because the rising use of emails or spoofed cellphone numbers to ship faux bomb threats or conduct swatting assaults, additionally current a priority, the place false eventualities are reported to impress a big police response. In 2018, a months-long marketing campaign concentrating on US colleges and companies induced evacuations, police responses, and main disruptions. Comparable assaults on election day might goal polling stations, election places of work, or ballot-counting websites.
Lastly, risk actors (significantly nation-states) will proceed to focus on electronic mail accounts of political operatives and organizations. The US intelligence group has already attributed social engineering assaults concentrating on each main US political events to Iran. These assaults aimed to entry delicate or embarrassing info to affect the US election, highlighting the frequency of politically motivated social engineering assaults and the significance of safe, distinctive passwords and multifactor authentication.
Safeguarding the Vote
Whereas cyberattacks will undoubtedly goal US election infrastructure over the subsequent few months, it is essential to position these occasions within the context of the protections put in place. Federal, state, native, and tribal governments, in addition to worldwide allies, have all been monitoring these threats and implementing mitigations and contingencies to assist guarantee a safe and easy election.
Whereas the 2024 election might even see varied cyber threats, present safety measures and coordination throughout all ranges of presidency goal to reduce their impression. Voters ought to keep knowledgeable and depend on official sources to make sure their participation isn’t disrupted.
