Federal agencies warn cyberattacks could limit access to election information, but not voting

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned voters this week that attacks on election infrastructure this year could hinder their ability to access information about elections, but said they would not affect Americans' ability to vote.

Intelligence officials have warned Americans that foreign adversaries such as Iran and Russia are attempting to sway the upcoming presidential election. But FBI and CISA officials clarified that these attempts are not actually interfering with the electoral process, and that Americans can trust that their votes will be counted fairly.

“With Election Day less than 100 days away, it is important to help put into context some of the incidents the American public may see during the election cycle that, while potentially causing some minor disruptions, will not fundamentally impact the security or integrity of the democratic process,” CISA senior adviser Cait Conley said in a statement Wednesday.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are one method that voters might witness in the upcoming election, which overwhelm servers and make them inaccessible, according to FBI Deputy Assistant Director Cynthia Kaiser. But those attacks can only limit access to information, and not actually harm a person's ability to vote, she explained.

"It is important to talk about these potential issues now, because nefarious actors, like our foreign adversaries or cybercriminals, could use DDoS incidents to cast doubt on the election systems or processes," Conley said. "An informed public is key to neutralizing the impact of foreign influence operations and disinformation."

The FBI and CISA said the warning is part of its ongoing commitment to educate Americans about critical election infrastructure and to ensure them that elections in the United States are still secure.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.