In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, cyber adversaries breached voter databases in over 21 states, exposing vulnerabilities in the very systems that uphold democracy.
As the 2024 election approaches, these threats have evolved and become more sophisticated; no longer just data theft, but direct attempts to manipulate results, disrupt operations, and erode public confidence.
Securing elections in the digital age is more than just safeguarding databases; it’s about ensuring that every citizen's voice is heard without interference.
The Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity and CISA's #Protect2024 initiative highlights that securing our electoral systems is a national priority, requiring coordinated action across all levels of government and private stakeholders. The stakes are high, and the time to prepare is now.
What is the Executive Order and National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS)?
10 Cyber Security Threats Teams Should Prepare for Before the 2024 Election
Top 5 Focus Areas to Mitigate Cyber Security Threats During the 2024 Election
How RAD Security Helps Election Officials Meet EO Requirements
Take Action Now: Strengthen Your Election Cybersecurity
The Executive Order (EO) on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity and the National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) are pivotal efforts by the federal government to enhance election security ahead of the 2024 elections.
These initiatives aim to build a resilient and defensible digital ecosystem to protect critical infrastructure, including electoral systems, from evolving cyber threats.
Key components of these initiatives include:
These federal efforts set a national standard for election security, aiming not only to safeguard technical systems but also to bolster public trust in the integrity of the electoral process. By aligning with these initiatives, election bodies can enhance resilience, reduce vulnerabilities, and ensure that every vote is securely protected.
Understanding the broader context of these federal initiatives helps us appreciate how elections are specifically targeted by cyber threats.
As we move into the 2024 election, several key threats have been identified as critical risks to the integrity and stability of the electoral process.
During the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reported a significant rise in sophisticated phishing operations targeting individuals and groups involved in the electoral process. These attacks are often designed to trick individuals into revealing login credentials, providing access to critical systems or sensitive voter data. During election cycles, attackers also leverage phishing to deploy ransomware, which can disrupt the operational capacity of electoral bodies by encrypting data and demanding ransoms for its release.
Ransomware is a significant threat to election security, targeting both government agencies and third-party vendors that support election operations. A successful ransomware attack could potentially lock election officials out of critical systems, leading to service disruptions that could affect voter registration, vote tallying, or other critical functions. The risk of ransomware increases during election periods due to the potential high impact and pressure on officials to pay quickly to restore systems.
Disinformation campaigns are another major election security threat, aimed at undermining public confidence in the electoral process. These campaigns often originate from foreign adversaries who use social media and other platforms to spread misinformation, sow discord, and confuse voters. The goal is not only to affect election outcomes but also to reduce voter turnout and trust in democratic institutions.
Voter registration databases are a high-value target for attackers, as they contain sensitive personal information. Attacks on these systems may involve attempting to manipulate voter information—such as deleting or changing voter details—to create confusion on election day, thereby eroding trust in the voting process. Breaches of voter registration systems can also be used to gather information for future attacks or to carry out identity theft.
In the lead-up to the 2020 U.S. election, nation-state actors actively targeted campaigns. Microsoft identified three major groups—Strontium (Russia), Zirconium (China), and Phosphorus (Iran)—targeting political campaigns, advocacy groups, and election officials. Over 200 organizations associated with the U.S. elections were attacked, showing the scale of international efforts to disrupt the democratic process. Many of these attacks focused on phishing and credential harvesting, highlighting the need for campaign security and awareness training
Election systems often rely on a network of third-party vendors for software, equipment, and other services. This makes the supply chain a vulnerability, as attackers may infiltrate less-secure third-party systems to gain access to election infrastructure. Supply chain attacks can introduce malicious code or hardware components, compromising the integrity of the voting process. For example, in 2020, there were concerns about vulnerabilities in third-party software used for voter registration or ballot processing systems.
Cloudflare's analysis of attacks during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections showed a significant increase in web attacks on candidate and voter information sites as the election approached. Specific types of attacks included SQL Injection (SQLi) and HTTP anomalies, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of the attacks mitigated. Additionally, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks targeted election-related websites, attempting to disrupt access to critical election information during key times close to Election Day.
Voting machines and election IT systems can also be targeted to manipulate the vote tallying process or compromise the accuracy of the reported results. Attacks may involve physical tampering, the introduction of malware, or the exploitation of software vulnerabilities. There have been concerns about outdated voting machines that lack proper encryption or audit capabilities, making them more susceptible to attacks.
Election security isn't solely threatened by external actors; insiders such as employees, vendors, or contractors also pose a risk. Malicious insiders can manipulate election data, alter voter records, or introduce vulnerabilities deliberately. Insider threats are challenging to detect, as they come from trusted personnel who already have authorized access to sensitive systems.
Another major concern is data integrity—cyberattacks that aim to modify, alter, or delete data. This could include tampering with voter rolls, altering vote counts, or modifying election results. Such activities directly threaten the integrity of elections and can be more damaging than data theft since they alter the core democratic process.
Given the heightened threat landscape, securing the electoral process requires a strategic focus on key areas that directly mitigate the risks identified. Below are the five critical areas where cybersecurity teams need to focus their efforts to ensure a successful, attack-resilient 2024 election.
Mitigates Threats: Voter Registration System Compromise, Attacks on Voting Machines, Data Integrity and Tampering
Security teams must perform thorough risk assessments to locate vulnerabilities in voter databases, voting machines, and result transmission systems. Compliance with Executive Order (EO) standards makes these assessments essential for maintaining the resilience of the most vulnerable election-related assets.
Leveraging CISA's vulnerability scanning and physical security assessments provides a multi-faceted approach to mitigate risks, ensuring the systems are fortified against attacks such as data tampering or system compromise.
Mitigates Threats: Ransomware Attacks, Data Integrity and Tampering, Attacks on Voting Machines
Cyber teams must establish clear steps to counteract attacks on electoral infrastructure, such as ransomware, and communicate effectively with relevant officials to prevent panic and misinformation.
The EO's requirements for incident reporting and cross-agency information sharing ensure that all response efforts are timely and effective. Plans must be regularly rehearsed with local law enforcement and critical service providers, as CISA’s training exercises facilitate preparedness for real-world scenarios.
Mitigates Threats: Phishing and Social Engineering Attacks, Insider Threats
Phishing and social engineering are some of the most common vectors used to compromise election security.
Election personnel, including staff, volunteers, and contractors, are often targeted. The EO mandates widespread security awareness to prepare everyone involved in the election against potential cyber threats. CISA's training initiatives empower election officials to identify phishing attempts and insider threats, turning election officials into a line of defense.
Regular awareness programs and phishing simulations are vital to preempt attempts at credential theft or insider attacks.
Mitigates Threats: Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks, Data Integrity and Tampering, Attacks on Voting Machines
Real-time monitoring tools are key during election periods, as they help detect and mitigate anomalies that might signify attacks, such as DDoS or attempts at data tampering. EO and CISA emphasize Zero Trust Architecture and advanced monitoring solutions to improve threat detection capabilities, making it harder for malicious actors to disrupt services or tamper with electoral data.
RAD Security's behavioral analysis solutions can further enhance monitoring capabilities by flagging anomalies as they happen, ensuring rapid detection and a swift response to threats before they escalate.
Mitigates Threats: Disinformation Campaigns and Foreign Interference, Supply Chain Attacks
Effective election security requires collaboration across federal, state, and local governments, as well as partnerships with private sector entities.
The EO encourages this cooperative approach to ensure a unified defense against sophisticated threats. By actively participating in CISA’s #Protect2024 initiative, stakeholders—including election officials, technology vendors, and cybersecurity experts—can share critical threat intelligence and ensure the integrity of supply chains involved in election operations.
Sharing this knowledge helps preempt attacks, mitigates disinformation campaigns, and ensures all components of the electoral process are working together cohesively to reduce risks.
RAD Security can play a pivotal role in enhancing election cybersecurity, particularly in meeting the requirements set out by the EO.
RAD Security’s real-time monitoring and behavioral analysis systems map out critical components as they happen, in alignment with the EO’s focus on Zero Trust Architecture and proactive monitoring of federal systems. This enables election bodies to swiftly respond to any detected anomalies and maintain the integrity of electoral systems.
RAD Security helps election stakeholders meet these standards by providing automated guardrails that enforce best practices, reducing manual intervention, and ensuring consistent adherence to regulatory mandates. Our compliance solutions also assist organizations in aligning with the latest guidelines from the National Cybersecurity Strategy and CISA's election security protocols, which help protect infrastructure during the election cycle.
The 2024 election represents a critical point of vulnerability for national security and democratic integrity.
The stakes are higher, and the consequences of failure more severe, compared to other high-tension periods. Cybersecurity teams must therefore prioritize election infrastructure, maintain robust defenses, and be ready to respond at a moment’s notice. By focusing on proactive risk assessments, incident response, ongoing training, monitoring, and collaborative information sharing—aligned with the directives of the EO and supported by CISA and RAD Security—these teams can help safeguard the democratic process against cyber threats.
Election officials and cybersecurity teams—your proactive steps today will define the security of our democracy tomorrow. Start preparing by leveraging available resources to fortify your defenses:
The security of the 2024 election is everyone's responsibility; ensure your systems are ready and resilient against evolving threats. Together, we can protect the integrity of our democratic process.