American security authorities are preparing for a barrage of rapid influence tactics, coming from various adversaries, with the goal of influencing the upcoming presidential election in the country.

At a meeting on Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned about potential interference with the upcoming November elections by using advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence. He urged security professionals to be vigilant against these changing threats.

During this election period, the United States will encounter a greater number of opponents who are advancing at a quicker rate, thanks to advances in technology,” stated Wray.

He stated that improvements in generative artificial intelligence are reducing the level of difficulty for outsiders, allowing both advanced and inexperienced adversaries to participate in harmful influence. This also makes it more challenging to identify and prevent these attempts from both familiar and unfamiliar sources.

Earlier in the week, a high-ranking government official and the White House expressed similar doubts about Russia, reiterating previously voiced concerns.

Mark Warner, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressed concern about our level of readiness for interference from other countries in the 2024 election compared to 2020. He shared these concerns while speaking at a cybersecurity conference on Tuesday.

During his appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, expressed his concern about the current situation.

Sullivan stated that the Russian Federation and its intelligence services have a history in presidential elections.

American intelligence agencies have confirmed that Russia attempted to meddle in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

However, Russia has not been the sole entity.

The declassified evaluation of intelligence for the 2022 midterm elections found with high to moderate confidence that Russia, along with China and Iran, attempted to influence the results.

The report stated that China quietly gave consent to attempts to sway a small number of midterm elections involving politicians from both major American political parties.

According to the statement, Tehran used its intelligence services and Iranian online influencers as the main means to carry out its hidden actions. These actions aimed to take advantage of perceived social differences and weaken trust in American democratic systems during the current election period.

The US has accused countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Lebanese Hezbollah of attempting to affect elections, while also pointing fingers at allies like Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Wray and others are facing opposition from certain legislators and conservative pundits who see their warnings as an effort to revive the so-called “Russia hoax.” These individuals argue that the claim of Russian interference in the 2016 election, which allegedly benefitted former President Trump, lacks credibility.

Warner disregarded this perspective while answering a question from VOA at the security conference on Tuesday. He expressed doubt towards anyone who denies that the Russian intelligence services have and will continue to meddle in our elections, questioning the source of their information.

On Thursday, Wray proposed that the number of countries and foreign entities attempting to influence American voters is likely to grow. He stated, “Artificial intelligence is particularly effective against what I would consider to be average adversaries, elevating them to an intermediate level.”

According to him, highly advanced opponents are utilizing AI primarily to boost the efficiency and scope of their operations. However, we are approaching a point in the near future where the experts, the most skilled adversaries, will discover methods to take advantage of AI and become even more formidable.

Certain private firms specializing in cybersecurity have also noticed an increase in potential threats.

In September of this year, Microsoft cautioned that Beijing has created a novel artificial intelligence capability that is able to generate attention-grabbing content with a higher potential for becoming viral, in contrast to earlier Chinese efforts to influence.

Others agree.

“In 2022, the prevalence of robocalls and fake videos were relatively low compared to now,” said Trellix CEO Bryan Palma to VOA. “There was a lack of high-quality deepfake videos.”

As we approach the election, I believe we will see an increase in that phenomenon.

Source: voanews.com