US steps up its election security

THE US is guarding itself against interference from Russia, China and Iran in the 2020 elections, seven government agencies including the FBI and the National Security Agency (NSA) said on Tuesday.

There will be an “unprecedented level of co-ordination” between all 50 states and US territories to ensure election security, a statement said.

“Our adversaries want to undermine our democratic institutions, influence public sentiment and affect government policies.

“Russia, China, Iran and other foreign malicious actors will all seek to interfere in the voting process or influence voter perceptions.”

Social media campaigns, disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks on state and local infrastructure are all possible ways that could be used to interfere, the statement added.

There is no evidence so far that the voting infrastructure has been compromised to tamper with votes, the statement said, while asking Americans to report any suspicious activity.

The statement was released by the FBI, NSA, Department of Justice, Department of Defence, Department of Homeland Security, the director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

A report by Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to probe election meddling into the 2016 presidential election, determined after a lengthy investigation that Russia did interfere in a manner aimed at helping elect Donald Trump.

The statement comes after Facebook unveiled measures aimed at preventing interference.

The social media site has admitted that Russian-backed actors were able to exploit the platform to reach 126 million Americans during the previous election. |