Declassified NICM on VULNERABILITIES in U.S. 2020 Election Infrastructure. We judge that US adversaries, including at a minimum Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, as well as nonstate groups, have the capability to compromise US election infrastructure for the 2020 presidential election. We assess that at least Russia, China,... Iran, and North Korea have the capability to access and potentially manipulate data in US election-related computer systems. We assess that centralized election-related data repositories, such as voter registration databases, pollbooks, and official election websites, are most vulnerable to exploitation, and adversaries could use access to these systems to disrupt election processes. Systems that tabulate, transmit, or display election results are vulnerable to localized exploitation but would be difficult to manipulate on a wide enough scale to alter the election outcome. Adversary claims of manipulation would be difficult to disprove and could undermine public confidence in election results. We assess that adversaries could most easily exploit centralized election-related data repositories because of their ease of access and comparative lack of security. - Voter Registration Databases. - Pollbooks. - State and Local Election Officials' Websites. We assess that systems designed to tabulate votes, transmit vote amounts, or display election results probably are vulnerable to localized exploitation. Direct recording electronic machines, which record and process votes digitally and store tabulation data in removable memory, are particularly vulnerable to cyber operations, especially machines with no paper backup. Adversaries who obtained physical access to voting machines could alter how they function, manipulate the data in them, or install malware, according to US state and academic investigations. At the 2019 DefCon cyber security conference, hackers demonstrated the ability to compromise more than 100 voting machines, all of which had been certified for use in at least one US voting jurisdiction. Ballot and voting machine preparation is vulnerable to cyber, supply chain, or insider threats. Ballot Preparation. Creating paper or electronic ballots to upload to voting machines is usually outsourced to third-party vendors. Some use Internet-connected computer systems and lack password and encryption policies, which could allow malicious actors to corrupt ballot files. Logic and accuracy tests to ensure the machines function properly before election day, however, probably would detect such activity. Voting Machine Preparation. Voting machines configured at a central location are vulnerable to insider threats. Malware introduced into the voting machines during this phase might affect multiple jurisdictions but also would be detectable during the pre-election testing. These findings cover a small portion of the overall findings, read the full document for full scope and findings.show more

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