Microsoft Corporation said that over the past 45 days, Russian cyber groups have become more active, trying to influence the upcoming presidential elections in the United States. While this activity is less, how to compare with the last American election in 2020.
Reuters writes about it.
Russia-linked accounts share controversial content aimed at American audiences. In particular, they criticize American support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Although the activity of Russian hackers is not so intense now, it may increase in the coming months, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft adds that over the past two months, the number of messages about Ukraine has increased through traditional media and social networks. The company says they are distributed by at least 70 Russian-linked cyber groups.
Currently, the most fruitful of the Russian information campaigns is connected with the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. In another campaign, cybergroups spread disinformation in a variety of languages, with messages usually beginning with the purported publication of a "whistleblower" or "journalist." The fake posts are then distributed by a number of websites, including DC Weekly, Miami Chronical and The Intel Drop.
Several weeks pass after the spread of the fake post. During this time, real American users spread the fake without even realizing its origin.
American political observers believe that the key threat to elections is information campaigns using artificial intelligence. However, Microsoft has found that simple digital fakes are more common and dangerous than deep fakes.
- Google, Microsoft, Meta and others will flag AI-generated content during the election. The decision is explained by the fact that artificially created content can mislead voters ahead of crucial elections in many countries this year.