WASHINGTON – A presidential candidate’s phone was hacked. A fake video falsely shows burned ballots in Pennsylvania. National security officials warn that US adversaries may incite violent protests after Election Day.
These developments — all revealed last week — show how Russia, China and Iran have increased the pace of efforts to interfere in American politics ahead of elections next month, just as intelligence officials and security analysts had predicted.
Meanwhile, officials, technology companies and private researchers have adopted a more aggressive defense by quickly debunking foreign election threats, highlighting lessons learned from previous election cycles that exposed America’s vulnerability to disinformation and cyber espionage.
Officials say the American electoral system is so secure that no foreign country could alter the results at the level necessary to change the outcome. However, authoritarian rivals have exploited disinformation and cyberespionage to target campaigns and voters, while stoking distrust and discord.
Here’s what you should know as the presidential election approaches:
Russia is the biggest threat
Russia is the most active and sophisticated country working to manipulate the US election, using fake websites, state-controlled media and unwitting Americans to spread misleading and polarizing content aimed at undermining confidence in the election.
The Kremlin’s disinformation apparatus exploits controversial issues such as immigration, crime, the economy, or disaster relief. The goal, officials said, is to weaken the United States, undermine support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders, and reduce America’s ability to confront Russia’s growing ties with China, North Korea and Iran.
Intelligence officials and private security analysts have determined that Russia supports former President Donald Trump, and is using disinformation — sometimes generated by artificial intelligence — to discredit his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested cutting off funding to Ukraine and repeatedly criticized the NATO military alliance.
In one particularly bold campaign, Russia released a video falsely accusing Harris of paralyzing a woman in a car accident years ago. Another video made bogus allegations against Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The FBI on Friday confirmed Moscow’s role in creating a third video purportedly showing the destruction of mail ballots in Pennsylvania. Local election officials quickly debunked the video as false.
Russia has also tried to pay American influencers who spread the Kremlin’s preferred narratives. Last month, US authorities charged two Russian state media employees with transferring $10 million to a Tennessee company to create pro-Russian content. The company then paid off several well-known right-wing influencers, who said they had no idea their work was supported by Russia.
Get daily national news
Get the day’s top political, economic and current affairs news, headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Moscow’s campaign will not end on Election Day. Instead, intelligence officials and private security analysts expect that Russia will exploit allegations of election irregularities to suggest that the results cannot be trusted. A recently declassified intelligence memo said Russia may also encourage violent protests after the election.
“Putin’s goal is to create chaos, division and polarization in our society,” said Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia who now teaches at Stanford University.
Russia has rejected allegations that it is seeking to influence the US election. There was no immediate response to a message left at the Russian Embassy in Washington on Saturday.
Iranian hacking and leaking operations
Iran has been a particularly brazen player in foreign interference this year.
She is accused of hacking Trump campaign associates and providing stolen communications to media organizations and Democrats in hopes of damaging stories that could hurt Republican prospects. Officials said dirty emails were sent to people associated with President Joe Biden’s campaign, but there was no indication anyone responded.
Last month, the Ministry of Justice charged three Iranian hackers who are still at large, accusing them of carrying out a years-long operation that targeted a wide range of victims.
US officials described the hacking operation as part of a broader effort to interfere in the elections, which Iran considers to be of particular importance. They say Iran has made clear its opposition to Trump’s campaign. His administration ended the nuclear agreement with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, prompting Iranian leaders to pledge revenge.
In addition to cyber operations, US officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the possibility of Iran carrying out violent actions on US soil against Trump or other members of his administration.
Officials in 2022 charged a failed Iranian plot to kill Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, and this year they charged a Pakistani man with ties to Iran in a plot to carry out political assassinations in the United States, including possible assassinations of Trump.
Leaders in Tehran may also try to encourage violent protests after the election, according to the declassified intelligence memo. Authorities say Iran secretly funded and supported protests in the United States over the Israeli war on Gaza.
Iranian authorities have denied allegations that the country is seeking to influence the elections. Iran’s mission to the United Nations issued a statement this week saying, “Iran has no motive or intention to interfere in the American elections.”
Neutral China?
US intelligence officials believe China is taking a more neutral stance in elections and focusing on down-ballot races, targeting candidates from both parties based on their positions on issues of key importance to Beijing, including support for Taiwan.
But the Chinese government has for years run a sophisticated hacking operation targeting all Western lifestyles and industry, an operation that goes beyond influencing elections.
“From the City Council to the president, they want access,” said Adam Darrah, a former CIA political analyst who is now vice president of intelligence at cybersecurity firm ZeroFox, which tracks foreign online threats.
On Friday, news emerged that Chinese hackers, as part of a much broader espionage effort, targeted cellphones used by Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and people associated with the Harris campaign. It was not immediately clear what data, if any, was accessed.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said they were not aware of the details and could not comment, but stressed that China routinely falls victim to cyber attacks and opposes the activity.
Are these tactics new? barely.
Foreign adversaries, including the same ones blamed for interference now, have sought to interfere in the past several election cycles — with varying degrees of success.
But the US government, which has been blamed for keeping information about the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election, has this year strongly denounced foreign threats as part of an effort to limit their influence and reassure Americans that the election is secure.
In 2016, Russian military intelligence hacked the email accounts of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman and the Democratic Party and released tens of thousands of communications in an attempt to boost Trump’s successful presidential campaign.
Russia that year also engaged in a massive but covert social media campaign aimed at sowing discord over hot-button social issues, creating division in the American electoral process and damaging Clinton’s bid for the presidency.
The antics continued into the 2020 election cycle when a Ukrainian lawmaker, described by U.S. officials at the time as an “active Russian agent,” released audio recordings of Democrat Joe Biden, then running for president.
That same year, Iranian hackers were blamed for emails allegedly coming from the far-right group The Proud Boys, which officials said were intended to damage Trump’s candidacy.
