U.S. Intelligence Officials Warn of Foreign Government Election-related Activity Intended to Incite Social Unrest

During a public briefing yesterday, top U.S. intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliff and FBI Director Christopher Wray, described some of the malicious activities foreign governments have taken ahead of the upcoming presidential election. In one example, they discussed how Iran had sent spoofed emails to voters that were intended to intimidate them. One of the goals of these efforts appears to be to incite social unrest. The officials also identified Russia as another foreign government involved in malicious activity related to the election, although they noted the country had not taken the same actions as Iran. Shortly before the briefing, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Marco Rubio and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner also commented on the malicious activities of foreign governments related to the election and advised the public on the role they could play in helping to address them, such as by identifying disinformation and misinformation. “As we enter the last weeks before the election, we urge every American – including members of the media – to be cautious about believing or spreading unverified, sensational claims related to votes and voting,” Rubio and Warner stated. Read the article at CBS News.

As WaterISAC discussed in an item for the Tuesday Security and Resilience Update on the potential for civil unrest and extremist/terrorist violence during the upcoming presidential election, disinformation campaigns could greatly increase tensions and serve as triggers for incidents. WaterISAC advised its members of the potential for any unrest and violence to impact its facilities and personnel.