Russia and Iran have obtained US voting registration information and are aiming to interfere in the presidential election, the government’s national intelligence director said.
John Ratcliffe, the intelligence director, and FBI Director Chris Wray told a news conference the US will impose costs on any foreign countries interfering in the 2020 US election.
“These actions are desperate attempts by desperate adversaries,” Mr Ractliffe said.
The announcement came after Democratic voters in at least four battleground states including Florida and Pennsylvania received threatening emails, falsely purporting to be from the far-right group Proud Boys.
New #RUMOR: An election-related email says it was sent from a certain organization, so that organization must have sent it.
REALITY: Cyber actors can forge emails, also known as spoofing. Use this resource for more disinformation tips: https://t.co/MoJ5yqN3wf #Protect2020 pic.twitter.com/AmfUF5BXo7— Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (@CISAgov) October 21, 2020
The messages warned “we will come after you” if the recipients did not vote for Donald Trump.
The voter intimidation operation apparently used email addresses obtained from state voter registration lists, which include party affiliation and home addresses and can include email addresses and phone numbers.
Those addresses were then used in an apparently widespread targeted spamming operation.
Not a moment too soon, as we're aware of threatening emails with misleading info about the secrecy of your vote.
FACT: Ballot secrecy is guaranteed by law in all states.
These emails are meant to intimidate and undermine American voters’ confidence in our elections. pic.twitter.com/CocBKrMEaN— Chris Krebs #Protect2020 (@CISAKrebs) October 21, 2020
The senders claimed they would know which candidate the recipient was voting for in the November 3 election, for which early voting is ongoing.
Federal officials have long warned about the possibility of this type of operation, as such registration lists are not difficult to obtain.
“These emails are meant to intimidate and undermine American voters’ confidence in our elections,” Christopher Krebs, the top election security official at the Department of Homeland Security, tweeted on Tuesday night after reports of the emails first surfaced.
