U.S. midterms see cyberattacks on state websites, but officials say no threat to vote

The "D-DOS" attacks that hit multiple state websites on Tuesday render a website temporarily inaccessible by flooding it with inauthentic internet traffic.

The top American cybersecurity agency said on Tuesday it was helping to fix problems with some state websites that were hit by cyberattacks during the U.S. midterm election, but it saw no credible threats aimed at disrupting the voting infrastructure.

“There is no specific or credible threat that is disrupting election infrastructure,” a senior official at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) told reporters.

Election security has emerged as a key issue in the United States ever since officials found Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with a campaign of hacking and propaganda intended to hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning against Donald Trump.

The “D-DOS” attacks that hit multiple state websites on Tuesday render a website temporarily inaccessible by flooding it with inauthentic internet traffic. Such attacks, however, do not affect the casting or counting of ballots, the senior federal official said in a briefing to journalists on condition of anonymity.

“We are aware of possible D-DOS attacks affecting a number of websites for state election offices, campaigns, and partisan organizations,” said the official.

“It’s critical to remember that even a successful D-DOS attack does not affect a user’s ability to cast a ballot or have it counted. It only affects the website, so any potential D-DOS attacks should not cast doubt on the security and resilience of the election.”

The official said a “handful” of states had been impacted and their websites were restored “relatively quickly.”

“While attribution is inherently difficult, we have not seen any evidence to suggest that these are part of a widespread coordinated campaign,” the official said.