William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), has issued a statement urging the U.S. public to be vigilant against foreign influence to help ensure the security of the 2020 presidential elections.
“At this time, we’re primarily concerned with China, Russia and Iran — although other nation states and non-state actors could also do harm to our electoral process,” Evanina said in the statement released Friday.
He said China is broadening its efforts to influence the U.S. policy environment, while Russia is using internet trolls and other proxies to spread disinformation. Iran is promoting disinformation on social media to weaken the U.S. democratic institutions.
Evanina noted that the U.S. intelligence community prioritizes election security and is committed to supporting the efforts of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to counter foreign interference of U.S. elections.
“With just over 100 days until the election, it is imperative that we also share insights with the American public about foreign threats to our election and offer steps to citizens across the country to build resilience and help mitigate these threats,” he said. “We will strive to update Americans on the evolving election threat landscape, while also safeguarding our intelligence sources and methods.”