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AI LOWERS BARRIER FOR CYBER-ADVERSARY MANIPULATION IN 2024 ELECTION

Securing the presidential election requires vigilance and hardened cybersecurity
defenses.

Shawn Henry, Chief Security Officer, CrowdStrike

April 19, 2024

3 Min Read
Source: thinkx2 via Alamy Stock Photo


COMMENTARY

Foreign adversaries have attempted to disrupt the US elections for years through
various methods. This includes espionage and "hack and leak" campaigns that
steal sensitive data and later amplify it in public forums. Today, generative AI
(GenAI) is altering the battlefield for attacks, and in the modern information
ecosystem where misinformation and disinformation can spread rapidly, it has the
potential to transform geopolitics.

Throughout my 24-year career with the FBI, I witnessed sophisticated adversaries
attempt to sow confusion and cripple networks, as cyber-threat actors developed
tools and tactics to disrupt businesses, governments, and more. The malicious
use and proliferation of GenAI in 2024 presents one of the toughest challenges
we'll face in an election year. 




ADVERSARIES CONTINUE ON THEIR PATH TO DISRUPT AND DISMANTLE

Nation-state adversaries affiliated with and tied to the motivations of foreign
governments have the resources to scale operations, and pose a constant threat
to democracy. As we've seen previously, it's likely that threat actors from
China, Russia, and Iran (charged for sending fake, intimidating emails to US
voters in 2020) will seek to interfere with the 2024 US election.



Adversaries may seek to target actual election infrastructure itself, including
the hardware and software used to tally and transmit votes, as well as political
campaign assets. While some actors have leveraged information operations,
generative AI is poised to increase the attractiveness of this malicious
activity. With GenAI, it is easier than ever for threat actors to create content
and influence narratives that support their underlying goals and objectives.
This, in turn, can undermine public confidence and perceptions of political
issues, parties, and candidates.



In fact, we're already starting to see the impacts. Threat actors from China
recently weaponized deepfakes ahead of Taiwan's election, aiming to increase the
voting public's confidence in candidates more diplomatic to China. Fabricated
information campaigns stemming from state-nexus entities will not be novel in
2024; however, generative AI will make deciphering what is real or not
infinitely more difficult. 

The rise of GenAI has also lowered the barrier of entry for virtually anyone to
interfere with elections. Less sophisticated hackers or hacktivists with a
specific geopolitical goal may be able to create high-quality disinformation
campaigns with relative ease. We've already seen a local magician make global
headlines this year by using AI to create fake robocalls, and it's only April.




COUNTERING THESE GROWING THREATS

So, what can be done? When it comes to protecting the disparate election
systems, it is critical to apply a risk-informed approach. At the heart of this
is hardening environments to protect systems and stop breaches, 24/7 continuous
monitoring of systems, and deep visibility into critical areas of risk,
including endpoints, cloud, and identity. Employing both threat hunting and
threat intelligence is equally as important, as these tools help to proactively
protect against adversaries who may attempt to penetrate networks.

State and local elections administration entities have improved their security
over the past several election cycles. So too have political parties and
campaign entities. But additional attention and investment is warranted.

With respect to information operations, we must continue to raise awareness.
Defending against this threat starts with vigilance from everyone. Citizens must
be on alert and validate the origin of information they are consuming, consider
the source's political stance and objective, and attempt to validate information
through trusted sources prior to amplifying it. All Americans have a crucial
role to play in critically analyzing the information they are getting and, more
importantly, sharing 



Social media companies and GenAI companies should work to detect and prevent
threat actors' use of their tools and platform. At a minimum this means
cooperating with each other where appropriate and collaborating with
cybersecurity companies and IT providers that have experience tracking these
groups.

In 2024, voters in all 50 states and across 55 countries will participate in
elections, providing numerous opportunities for adversaries with various
motivations to disrupt and dismantle confidence in democracy. With proper
awareness, preparation, and cybersecurity best practices in place, we can take a
big step forward in defending democracy in the digital age. Failure to do so
could be catastrophic.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Shawn Henry

Chief Security Officer, CrowdStrike

Shawn Henry serves as chief security officer and is one of the company's longest
tenured executive leaders, having joined in 2012 after retiring from the FBI
senior executive service. In Henry’s role, he oversees all security aspects of
CrowdStrike, including the company's information security, business continuity
and resiliency, and risk reduction programs, as well as the physical security of
CrowdStrike's global facilities, personnel, executive protection, and corporate
events. Prior to joining CrowdStrike, Shawn oversaw half of the FBI's
investigative operations as Executive Assistant Director, including all FBI
criminal and cyber investigations worldwide, international operations, and the
FBI's critical incident response to major investigations and disasters.

See more from Shawn Henry
Keep up with the latest cybersecurity threats, newly discovered vulnerabilities,
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