Russia, Iran, China likely to engage in new election interference efforts, Microsoft analysis finds

Russia, Iran and China are likely to engage in newly sophisticated influence and interference efforts ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election and in other pivotal elections worldwide, a new analysis by Microsoft has found. All three countries are expected to seek to shape geopolitical outcomes in their favor amid major ongoing or potential regional conflicts, though Russia remains "the most committed and capable threat" to the upcoming American federal election, it said. 

"For Russia, Iran and China, the next U.S. president will define the direction of conflict — whether wars might occur, or peace might prevail," the new report, issued by Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center (MTAC), says, predicting all three governments are "unlikely to sit out next year's contest — the stakes are simply too high." 

Microsoft's analysis also suggested that the 2024 presidential election could be the first in which "multiple authoritarian actors simultaneously attempt to interfere with and influence an election outcome."