The Director of National Intelligence is warning the public that Iran and Russia are trying to influence the 2020 election. John Ratcliffe says Iran sent spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters. He said both countries have obtained voter registration information. Intelligence officials haven't seen similar actions by Russia.
Ratcliffe called it "desperate attempts by desperate adversaries," but noted U.S. election systems are "resilient" and Americans can be confident their votes are secure. He added nobody should be alarmed if they receive a similar email and not to spread it around.
"The FBI is the primary agency responsible for investigating malicious cyber activity against election infrastructure, malign foreign influence operations, and election-related crimes, like voter fraud and voter suppression or intimidation. And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing," said FBI Director Christopher Wray. "At the FBI, we’re working closely with our intelligence community partners, as well as our other federal, state, and local partners, to share information, bolster security, and identify and disrupt any threats. We’re not going to tolerate foreign interference in our elections or any criminal activity that threatens the sanctity of your vote or undermines public confidence in the outcome of the election. When we see indications of foreign interference or federal election crimes, we’re going to aggressively investigate and work with our partners, to quickly take appropriate action. We’re also coordinating with the private sector—both technology and social media companies—to make sure that their platforms are not used by foreign adversaries to spread disinformation and propaganda."
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