08/01/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/01/2024 22:00
Author: Erin Clausen
Date: 8/1/2024 3:22 PM
The FBI and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency have put out a public service announcement regarding the potential impact of a cyber-attack around the upcoming General Election. In a nutshell: While access to information might be compromised, the security and integrity of election processes would not be impacted.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) together issued an announcement regarding the potential impact of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack as we head toward Election Day on November 5, 2024. Their message was that an attack like this could restrict the flow of public election information but would not impact election processes themselves.
What is a Distributed Denial of Service (DDos) attack?
DDoS attacks occur when malicious cyber actors flood a public-facing, internet-accessible server with requests, rendering the targeted server slow or inaccessible. This temporarily prevents legitimate users from accessing online information or resources, such as web pages and online services, and may disrupt business activities temporarily.
How could DDoS Attacks affect public access to election information?
DDoS attacks targeting election infrastructure could prevent a voter from accessing websites containing information about where and how to vote, online election services like voter registration, or unofficial election results.
Could they interfere with a voter's ability to cast a ballot?
If foreign actors or cyber criminals conduct DDoS attacks against election infrastructure or other infrastructure supporting election administration, the underlying data and internal systems would remain uncompromised, and anyone eligible to vote would still be able to cast a ballot. The FBI and CISA have no reporting to suggest a DDoS attack has ever prevented an eligible voter from casting a ballot, compromised the integrity of any ballots cast, or disrupted the ability to tabulate votes or transmit election results in a timely manner.
What do the FBI and CISA say a voter should do?
The official public service announcement can be viewed online here.