The FBI has warned about Russian disinformation videos
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“Believe nothing you hear, and only half that you see” is a quote attributed to both Benjamin Franklin and Edgar Allan Poe. Regardless of who said it, in the run-up to the 2024 elections that will determine the next President of the United States, you would do well to heed. Given the technological advances in recent years, especially regarding AI-generated deepfakes, I’d be inclined to change this to “don’t believe anything you hear or see that you haven’t seen happening in real time.” A recently published warning from the Federal Bureau of Investigation adds weight to my version. Russian influence actors are, the FBI warned, spreading a video that appears to show individuals claiming to be from Haiti voting illegally in all counties of Georgia.
The 2024 US election disinformation campaign
The FBI’s final warning about disinformation campaigns The implications for the 2024 elections come from an analysis with assistance from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The agencies came to the collective conclusion that “Russian influence actors” produced the video in question, based on available information and previous activities of other Russian influence actors. “The Georgian Secretary of State has already refuted the video’s claims as false,” the FBI said.
Although Election Day itself is almost here, don’t expect this to be the last attempt to disrupt the democratic voting process in the US. “Russian influence actors also created a video in which they falsely accused an individual associated with the Democratic presidential campaign of taking bribes from an American entertainer,” the FBI added.
According to the FBI, fomenting division among Americans is at the heart of Russia’s disinformation campaign and is part of “Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of U.S. elections.”
CISA on a mission to protect the 2024 election process
CISA, which describes itself as the US Cyber Defense Agency, has published a report Protect 2024 resource site for those with questions about 2024 election integrity as it relates to election officials and election infrastructure stakeholders protecting against cyber, physical, and operational security risks to election infrastructure during the 2024 presidential election. “For years, U.S. adversaries have targeted U.S. targeted elections as part of their efforts to undermine U.S. global standing, sow division within the United States, and influence American voters and decision-making,” CISA said. “We expect this to be no different in 2024.”
CISA has made it a whole library of resources available to anyone who wishes to refer to it. However, the TL;DR steps election officials can take to ensure they are as safe as possible during the 2024 election, even at this late stage, are as follows:
- Enable two-factor authentication.
- Manage vulnerabilities.
- Have a physical security assessment carried out.
- Practice an incident response plan.
All citizens, and not just those officially involved in the voting process during the 2024 elections, must stay informed about the election threat news provided by CISA.
A series of ‘Just So You Know’ government announcements around the 2024 election have also been made available, covering everything from Denial of Service attacks Unpleasant false claims about hacked voter information.
Stay safe and make your 2024 election vote count.