In a joint public service announcement, CISA and the FBI are alerting American citizens that ransomware disruptions during voting periods will not disrupt the security of vote casting or counting.
In prior elections, malicious actors have tried to manipulate public opinion and undermine the electoral process by spreading or amplifying false information. However, in the past, successful ransomware attacks on elections have remained localized and were usually managed with minimal disruption to operations and had no impact on the accuracy of ballot casting or processing.
CISA and the FBI report that election officials use a multi-layer approach incorporating technological, physical, and procedural controls to prevent cyber disruptions from impacting electoral systems, though its noted that its possible for cyber intrusions to cause localized delays.
“Combatting ransomware attacks is a top priority for the FBI, especially during elections,” stated FBI Cyber Division Deputy Assistant Director Cynthia Kaiser. “While the FBI will continue to leverage its tools and partnerships to combat cyber criminals, the public should be aware that ransomware is extremely unlikely to affect the integrity of voting systems or the electoral process.”
More information on how to understand and mitigate the impacts of a ransomware attack on election infrastructure can be found on CISA’s website.
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