Election intereference can undermine democracies

Subject

The security of electoral systems.

Significance

The United States is one of many countries due to hold elections this year, amid concern over foreign interference. Although interference by domestic or foreign actors through social media has attracted most attention, hacking is a broader phenomenon that can take place at the technical level (voting machines, counting mechanisms), the infrastructure level (electoral rolls, election officials) and the social level (news organisations, political parties). Attacks are more commonplace at the infrastructure level than the technical one.

Impacts

• Beyond external actors, domestic political actors will also engage in disinformation as electoral strategies.
• Voters may be put off voting or question the outcome of the vote.
• Societal rifts are likely to widen due to lack of shared ground truth.