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Intelligence Community to Brief Election Officials

This uncommon step reflects the need to handle nation-state influence campaigns against U.S. democracy

The intelligence community is schooling election officials on the risks of adversarial influence campaigns during elections. Credit: Shutterstock/Alexandru Nika

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) announced it is stepping up efforts to combat the risks of adversarial influence campaigns against American democracy. Together with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI, the ODNI will give a classified briefing to election officials in every U.S. state on February 16 and 18.

“This national-level classified dialogue with officials from the National Association of Secretaries of State, the National Association of State Election Directors and the Election Assistance Commission is part of an ongoing effort to ensure the integrity and security of the nation's election infrastructure, particularly as the risk environment evolves,” the ODNI stated in a news release. The agency will educate election officials on the intent of foreign adversaries to impact U.S. elections and the capabilities adversaries may use against a states’ election infrastructure. The briefing also will cover threat mitigation efforts.

“The goal of this collaborative event is to build an enduring partnership to ensure the sharing of timely, substantive information on threats to our nation’s critical infrastructure,” the ODNI stated.