The FBI released new election security resources as part of its Protected Voices initiative on Oct. 23.
“America’s elections are the foundation of our democracy – so protecting them is a priority for the FBI and our partners,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray in his video message introducing the expansion of the FBI’s Protected Voices initiative.
The resources and the larger Protected Voices initiative were developed through a partnership between the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The Initiative is intended to facilitate the sharing of resources, information, and tools to help mitigate the risk of cyber influence operations targeting U.S. elections at all levels of government. In its announcement, the FBI specifically highlighted the role of foreign adversaries in targeting voters and campaigns during the 2016 and 2018 election cycles.
“The most recent election cycles have shown that U.S. voters and campaigns are being targeted by foreign entities through both cyber intrusions and covert influence and disinformation efforts,” the FBI said. “The FBI and its partner agencies feel it is vital for campaigns to understand the current methods and tactics being used by our foreign adversaries and how to protect against them.”
The new resources, which include a series of video tutorials, explain “the nature of foreign influence and social engineering, highlight common areas of vulnerability, and offer cybersecurity measures to help campaigns, companies, and individuals protect themselves against common Internet-enabled crimes.”
Nikki Floris, deputy assistant director, FBI Counterintelligence Division, said, “These attacks on our elections and these efforts by foreign adversaries to influence our opinions and sow divisions within this country touch us all.”
