US 3 Major Intelligence Agencies Warn "Russia and Iran Attempted Interference on Election Day"

[US Election 2024]
FBI and Others Identify Russia as 'Greatest Threat'
Spreading Fake News Including Ballot Tampering

U.S. intelligence agencies have warned that Russia and Iran are highly likely to engage in organized online election interference starting on the day of the U.S. presidential election.

The three major U.S. intelligence agencies?the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)?issued a joint statement on the 4th (local time), stating, "Hostile foreign actors aiming to undermine public confidence in the fairness of U.S. elections and to sow division will intensify their operations starting on election day and continuing for several weeks." They identified Russia and Iran as countries of concern.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Russia was considered the greatest threat. The intelligence agencies explained, "Russia is spreading fake news on social media platforms claiming that the Democratic Party is manipulating ballots of Arizona voters living abroad to favor Vice President Kamala Harris, or that Americans are committing violence against supporters of the opposing side."

These Russian election operations are interpreted as having the purpose of supporting former President Donald Trump. The New York Times (NYT) reported, "Intelligence officials have confirmed that Russia prefers Trump," analyzing that "Trump’s skepticism toward military aid to Ukraine and his efforts to end the war as soon as possible influenced this stance."

However, Iran, another country under watch, was confirmed to be hostile toward former President Trump. Intelligence agencies stated, "We have detected indications that Iran has conducted malicious cyber activities aimed at damaging the Trump campaign," adding, "They are preparing retaliation for the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Soleimani in January 2020." Earlier, in September, intelligence agencies announced that Iranian hackers had hacked confidential materials from the Trump campaign and leaked them to the Joe Biden campaign.

The intelligence agencies advised, "As Iran has done in the past, it may create fake media content to suppress voting or incite violence," recommending, "Voters should seek election information from trusted official sources such as state and local election authorities."