US Shares Info On Election Interference Tied To Russia, China, Iran

US Shares Info On Election Interference Tied To Russia, China, Iran

The Director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) today shared information on ongoing election influence efforts linked to Russia, China, and Iran, before the 2020 U.S. elections.

NCSC Director William Evanina said today that foreign governments’ each have their own agenda when it comes to who gets nominated as POTUS after 2020’s U.S. presidential elections.

As Evanina said, Russian actors are acting as part of what US intelligence sees as a concerted effort on both Russian television and media to support President Trump’s candidacy in 2020.

Meanwhile, China would want for President Trump to lose this year’s presidential elections since it considers him unpredictable.

Iran’s influence efforts are also targeted against President Trump’s reelection seeing that his return to the White House would keep the current U.S. pressure for a change of regime in the Middle Eastern country.

Many foreign actors have a preference for who wins the election, which they express through a range of overt and private statements; covert influence efforts are rarer. We are primarily concerned about the ongoing and potential activity by China, Russia, and Iran.

“This information is being released for the purpose of better informing Americans so they can play a critical role in safeguarding our election,” said Evanina.

“Ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections, foreign states will continue to use covert and overt influence measures in their attempts to sway U.S. voters’ preferences and perspectives, shift U.S. policies, increase discord in the United States, and undermine the American people’s confidence in our democratic process,” he added.

“They may also seek to compromise our election infrastructure for a range of possible purposes, such as interfering with the voting process, stealing sensitive data, or calling into question the validity of the election results.”

Below you can find the intelligence assessments (in-full) shared by NCSC’s chief as “the most current, accurate, and objective election threat information” in the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC).

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 CHINA – We assess that China prefers that President Trump – whom Beijing sees as unpredictable – does not win reelection. China has been expanding its influence efforts ahead of November 2020 to shape the policy environment in the United States, pressure political figures it views as opposed to China’s interests, and deflect and counter criticism of China. Although China will continue to weigh the risks and benefits of aggressive action, its public rhetoric over the past few months has grown increasingly critical of the current Administration’s COVID-19 response, closure of China’s Houston Consulate, and actions on other issues. For example, it has harshly criticized the Administration’s statements and actions on Hong Kong, TikTok, the legal status of the South China Sea, and China’s efforts to dominate the 5G market. Beijing recognizes that all of these efforts might affect the presidential race.    

RUSSIA – We assess that Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia “establishment.” This is consistent with Moscow’s public criticism of him when he was Vice President for his role in the Obama Administration’s policies on Ukraine and its support for the anti-Putin opposition inside Russia. For example, pro-Russia Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach is spreading claims about corruption – including through publicizing leaked phone calls – to undermine former Vice President Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party. Some Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television.    

IRAN – We assess that Iran seeks to undermine U.S. democratic institutions, President Trump, and to divide the country in advance of the 2020 elections. Iran’s efforts along these lines probably will focus on on-line influence, such as spreading disinformation on social media and recirculating anti-U.S. content. Tehran’s motivation to conduct such activities is, in part, driven by a perception that President Trump’s reelection would result in a continuation of U.S. pressure on Iran in an effort to foment regime change.

Today’s statement comes after one issued in July, when Evanina provided an overview of foreign threats to the U.S. 2020 presidential election, saying that foreign adversaries were seeking to “compromise the private communications of U.S. political campaigns, candidates and other political targets”.

Foreign nation-sponsored actors were also coordinating election interference efforts on both traditional and social media, “to sway U.S. voters’ preferences and perspectives, to shift U.S. policies, to increase discord and to undermine confidence in our democratic process.”

“At the most basic level, we encourage Americans to consume information with a critical eye, check out sources before reposting or spreading messages, practice good cyber hygiene and media literacy, and report suspicious election-related activity to authorities,” said.

In January, the FBI announced a change in policy requiring the timely notification of state officials of potential cyber threats to U.S. election infrastructure.

During October 2019, the FBI also updated and expanded a collection of resources and tools intended to help political campaigns, private businesses, and individuals to better identify and mitigate risks posed by foreign entities’ disinformation efforts and cyber intrusions.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also provides a list of best practices for securing elections systems.

Microsoft said in July 2019 that Russian-backed actors attempted to hack into the campaigns of three congressional candidates during the 2018 midterm elections.

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