The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced that several threat actors were attempting to hack into US election systems ahead of the upcoming 2022 US Elections. The authorities acknowledged the dangers the forthcoming elections would attract, including the rise in cyberattacks on the American voting systems. However, the agencies assured that the hackers were unlikely to interfere and impact the election results, despite increased attacks in the USA during the past few months.
The FBI and CISA are responsible for maintaining peace and order in the American system. As per reports, several threat actors have already started their efforts to attack American voters and lawmakers ahead of the upcoming 2022 elections. Despite their efforts, the FBI and CISA stated that their attacks would not affect the voting systems in the USA. According to the agencies, there would be little to no interference with the election process if any attempt were made to change the vote outcome.
Threat actors target the 2022 US elections
The agencies explained that sophisticated equipment and stringent procedures would safeguard the electoral process throughout the voting period. These methods would reduce the likelihood of phishing attempts, Denial-of-Service (DoS), spoofing, and other ransomware assaults that can affect the voting process.
US authorities and cybersecurity experts will utilize new threat detection methods and software tools to thwart any potential abuses of the voting systems, ballots, poll books, logic, and procedures. In other words, the FBI and CISA are convinced that no output-altering efforts will be made against the voting systems in the American elections of 2022.
The agency has taken notes from other hacking attempts made during the elections, including the June 2022 advisory about the vulnerability in the Dominion voting system. For an election hacking attempt, reports state, the hackers would require physical access to the Election Management System (EMS) or a platform to use supply chain attacks to modify the files before the operating system images are loaded onto ImageCastX devices.
The American political system is based on fair election policies, laying the foundation of democracy and the electoral rights of its people.