Mandiant also observed a pro-Iran Distinguished Impersonator influence campaign during the 2018 midterms, and expects to see similar activity in this election cycle. "Utilizing a tactic first observed during Dragonbridge messaging targeting Western rare earths mining companies, some accounts posted comments using first-person pronouns to feign concern, implying that they were American," the threat researchers noted. Their favored topics include the midterm elections, the US economy, and energy prices, as well as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Īdditionally, Beijing-backed Dragonbridge, which operates 72 fake-news websites and social media accounts pushing pro-China propaganda and criticizing America and its allies, has already pivoted to election-related topics. Mandiant's threat intel team has observed two phony accounts, posting on Twitter and other sites, claiming to be editors at a Kremlin-linked pseudo news organization called Newsroom for American and European Based Citizens (NAEBC). In terms of election misinformation, Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA) will likely promote right-wing narratives related to the 2022 midterms as they did in the lead-up to the 20 presidential elections. As indicated above, Russia, Iran, and China are top of the list. Voting machine hacks aside, Mandiant – which Google is trying to buy for more than $5 billion – suggested who is likely to interfere with or disrupt US elections. The machine - and how it illegally ended up for sale on eBay - is now the subject of an investigation. Harri Hursti, an election security expert who works for state officials testing voting machines for bugs, paid $1,200 for the machine and then emailed Michigan's Secretary of State office about the deal. While actual criminals aren't likely to publicize their illicit actions in advance, one security researcher recently bought a Dominion ImageCast X voting machine on eBay before Michigan officials even knew it was missing. TikTok wants your trust around US midterm elections data.Meta found guilty of flouting Washington political ad laws – again.Google, YouTube ban election trolls ahead of US midterms.
Mandiant links APT42 to Iranian 'terrorist org'.But that doesn't mean that some miscreants aren't trying. "We believe notable compromises of actual voting devices or other activity impacting the integrity of votes is unlikely," the researchers report. However, amid the likely cyberespionage, misinformation campaigns, and possible ransomware infections, there is a silver lining when it comes to the mechanics of voting itself. This is usually to put citizens off voting or turn them against each other, leading to unrest. Additionally, as we've seen in previous elections, Russia, Iran and China will likely use information operations to "intimidate or influence" US voters, they noted.
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