The leaders of eight federal agencies on Monday jointly urged the public to be vigilant of foreign influence operations around the presidential primaries ahead of Super Tuesday, also emphasizing the federal government’s coordination in defending against threats to elections.
In a statement released Monday, the Trump administration officials — who included Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf — noted that they “continue to work with all 50 states, U.S. territories, local officials, political parties and private sector partners to keep elections free from foreign interference.”
The officials cautioned that Americans “must also remain aware that foreign actors continue to try to influence public sentiment and shape voter perceptions,” adding that foreign actors may attempt to “spread false information and propaganda about political processes and candidates on social media” in order to create doubt in the election system.
“We remain alert and ready to respond to any efforts to disrupt the 2020 elections,” the officials said. “We continue to make it clear to foreign actors that any effort to undermine our democratic processes will be met with sharp consequences.”
The statement was also co-signed by Defense Secretary Defense Mark Esper, acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Richard Grenell, FBI Director Christopher Wray, U.S. Cyber Command Commander and National Security Agency Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Christopher Krebs.
The officials emphasized that the level of “coordination” between federal agencies and state and local election officials was “stronger than it’s ever been.”
“Our Departments and Agencies are working together in an unprecedented level of commitment and effort to protect our elections and to counter malign foreign influence, but voters have a role to play too,” the officials said.
In order to defend against disinformation threats on social media, the senior officials recommended that American voters check their voter registration for correct information on where and when to vote, noting that the best source of information around elections was local or state election websites.
“A well-informed and vigilant republic is the best defense against disinformation,” the officials emphasized.
The federal government has stepped up its efforts to defend against foreign interference in U.S. elections in the wake of Russian interference during the 2016 presidential election cycle.
According to U.S. intelligence agencies, the Senate Intelligence Committee and the report compiled by former special counsel Robert Mueller, Russian agents launched a sweeping interference campaign involving disinformation on social media and hacking attempts on election infrastructure in the run-up to the 2016 elections, with the goal of favoring the campaign of now-President Trump.
Disinformation campaigns online have remained a persistent threat since then, with Barr, Wolf, Krebs, Wray and former Acting DNI Joseph Maguire penning an op-ed in USA Today in February also highlighting concerns about disinformation around elections.
“We cannot prevent all disinformation, foreign propaganda or cyberattacks on our infrastructure,” the officials wrote in the op-ed. “However, together, we can all help to mitigate these threats by exercising care when we share information and by maintaining good cyber hygiene to reduce the risks that malicious cyberattacks will succeed.”
CISA has been one of the key agencies involved in assisting state and local election officials with defending against election interference. The agency operated a situational awareness room on Election Day during the 2018 midterms to continuously monitor threats nationwide and plans to host a similar awareness room during the Super Tuesday primary elections.