Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are a common problem in elections, especially when electronic voting systems are used.
In the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have issued a joint statement saying that DDoS attacks will not compromise the integrity of the upcoming election.
Even if attackers were to launch a large-scale DDoS attack on the election infrastructure, both security agencies have assured that key data and internal systems would remain unaffected and that all eligible voters would be able to continue to cast their ballots.
Threatening actors attempt to undermine the integrity of elections
“These low-level attacks, which are expected to continue as the 2024 U.S. general election approaches, could disrupt the availability of some election-related features, such as voter search tools or unofficial election night coverage, during the election cycle, but will not impact voting itself,” a statement said. joint statement said.
“Threat actors may falsely claim that DDoS attacks are a sign of compromise in the electoral process because they want to undermine confidence in U.S. elections. In recent years, DDoS attacks have been a popular tactic used by hacktivists and cybercriminals to advance a social, political, or ideological cause,” the statement said.
It is no secret that state-sponsored groups and cybercriminals are attempting to disrupt elections, and will continue to do so. Both agencies remind voters to obtain information from official sources, especially on topics such as voter registration, mail-in voting, election results, and polling stations.
Voters should report suspicious or criminal activity targeting election systems to a local FBI office by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or using the online service at ic3.gov.
Cait Conley, senior adviser at CISA, reassured those heading to the polls in November: proverb“With Election Day less than 100 days away, it is important to put into context some of the incidents the American public may encounter during the election cycle. While they may cause minor disruptions, they do not fundamentally impact the security or integrity of the democratic process.”
“DDoS attacks are an example of a tactic we have seen used against election infrastructure in the past and will likely see again in the future, but they do NOT compromise the security or integrity of the actual election,” Conley concluded.
Through BleepingComputer