Foreign interference in the U.S. election is up – and being swiftly exposed

Officials, tech companies and private researchers have adopted a more aggressive defense, swiftly exposing interference by Russia, China and Iran using lessons from prior campaigns

WASHINGTON — A presidential candidate’s phone is hacked. A fake video falsely shows ballots burned in Pennsylvania. National security officials warn that U.S. adversaries may incite violent protests after Election Day.

These developments — all revealed in the past week — show how Russia, China and Iran have increased the pace of efforts to meddle in American politics ahead of next month’s election, just as intelligence officials and security analysts had predicted.

At the same time, officials, tech companies and private researchers have adopted a more aggressive defense by swiftly exposing foreign election threats, highlighting the lessons learned from past election cycles that revealed America’s vulnerability to disinformation and cyberespionage.

Officials say the U.S. election system is so secure that no foreign nation could alter the results at a scale necessary to change the outcome. Nevertheless, authoritarian adversaries have leveraged disinformation and cyberespionage to target campaigns and voters while stoking distrust and discord.

Here’s what to know as the presidential election approaches:

Russia is the top threat

Russia is the most active and sophisticated nation working to manipulate the U.S. election, using fake websites, state-controlled media and unwitting Americans to spread misleading and polarizing content aimed at undermining confidence in elections.

The Kremlin’s disinformation apparatus seizes on contentious issues like immigration, crime, the economy or disaster relief. The goal is to weaken the U.S., erode support for Ukraine as it fights off Russian invaders and reduce America’s ability to counter Russia’s growing ties to China, North Korea and Iran, officials have said.