CISA 2026-10-16

Cyber Threat Actors Use a Variety of Techniques to Target Election and Campaign Officials

Machine-generated analysis · WAYSCloud LLM

Phishing and smishing are identified as primary techniques targeting election officials.

Context

The advisory concerns election officials, candidates, and political organizations that handle voter registration data and campaign information.
CISA and the FBI warn that malicious actors may use phishing and smishing to steal credentials or install malware.
These messages often closely resemble legitimate communications.

Operator considerations

Check: verify the authenticity of email and SMS sources.
Isolate: restrict execution of unknown attachments and links.
Log: monitor for suspicious messages and credential use.

From Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency ↗

CISA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a Public Service Announcement (PSA) warning election and campaign officials about cyber threats during the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. Malicious cyber actors may use phishing and smishing techniques to steal login credentials and other sensitive information or install malware on targeted devices. Election officials, candidates, and political organizations may be attractive targets because of their access to voter registration data, current government officials, and sensitive campaign information.

Cyber actors are increasingly using sophisticated phishing and smishing campaigns that closely resemble legitimate communications. These efforts may include convincing emails, text messages, audio, and video content designed to manipulate recipients into disclosing sensitive information or interacting with malicious links and attac...

Read the full advisory on CISA →