Alleged Chinese influence campaigns intensify worries about U.S election meddling

Recent reports of Chinese actors allegedly targeting prominent campaigns and candidates is raising concerns China is stepping up efforts to meddle in the U.S. election up and down the ballot.

A Microsoft Threat Analysis Center report, released less than two weeks out from the election, revealed Chinese influence operations targeted a handful of Republican candidates and congressional members who “advocate for anti-Chinese policies.” The Chinese Embassy maintained it “has no intention and will not interfere in the US election.”

Those revelations were followed up Friday with reporting that Chinese hackers allegedly targeted the phones of former President Trump and vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). The recent occurrences are raising questions over China’s involvement in the U.S. election and how campaigns should navigate the threat.

“From sort of a democracy standpoint, you can't lose sight of the fact that the goal of our foreign adversaries, including China, is to destabilize America from within,” explained Kim Wyman, who served as senior election security adviser for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and is a former GOP Washington secretary of state.

“So our political polarization at this moment has made it easier for threat actors like China and Russia and Iran to capitalize on our discord and amplify it to sow deeper division here at home,” she explained.

The latest Microsoft report alleges a Chinese-linked disinformation campaign known as Taizi Flood or “Spamouflage” targeted a handful of downballot Republicans, some of whom are facing elections this year: Reps. Barry Moore (Ala.) and Michael McCaul (Texas), in addition to Sens. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.)

Beginning last month, the disinformation campaign targeted Blackburn, the report alleged, noting, “By early October, Taizi Flood accounts evolved this campaign, promoting Blackburn’s opponent in the 2024 election, Representative Gloria Johnson.”

“Although Taizi Flood assets engaged in attention-seeking behavior by tagging prominent politicians, celebrities, and news outlets in relevant posts, the campaign received virtually no authentic engagement as of the time of this writing,” the report said.

The disinformation campaign also allegedly targeted McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, earlier this month as different accounts alleged he was “abusing power for personal gain.”

Nevertheless, legislators such as McCaul and Blackburn, prominent critics of China, are likely to glide to reelection this November.

Hours before reports circulated about the alleged hacks of Trump and Vance’s phones Friday, the FBI and CISA said they were investigating “the unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure” involving actors “affiliated” with the People’s Republic of China.

The FBI declined to confirm if the statement referred to the breach that allegedly targeted Trump and Vance.

Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign's communications director, did not verify the reports, but claimed the Harris campaign and Democratic officials “allowed major foreign adversaries to attack us” by fostering a weak foreign policy.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy to the U.S. said it was not aware of the specific situation and declined to comment on whether the operation targeted Trump and Vance but said the country "firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms."

In response to the Microsoft report, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy said “the presidential elections are the United States’ domestic affairs.”

“In recent years, some U.S. officials, politicians, media and companies have accused China of using news websites and social media accounts to spread so-called disinformation in the US. Such allegations are full of malicious speculations against China, which China firmly opposes,” the spokesperson added.

While the seats of some high-profile Republican lawmakers seeking reelection may not be in jeopardy, cybersecurity experts suggested downballot campaigns may be more vulnerable to external influence because they lack the resources and cybersecurity defenses often provided for presidential races.

“Our adversaries are not only looking for targets where they can have the greatest impact and support of their objectives, but they're also looking for soft targets. ... Targets that may be more vulnerable to being successfully attacked,” said John Cohen, executive director for the Center for Internet Security’s program for Countering Hybrid Threats.

And just because China targets nonpresidential races doesn’t mean they don’t have the national ticket in mind, said Michael Kaiser, the president of Defending Digital Campaigns — a nonpartisan nonprofit that provides cybersecurity products and information to campaigns.

“If they're trying to get into a presidential campaign in Pennsylvania, would they try to get in through the state party or through a House race, which might be connected in some way? Because there's some coordination that goes on among all these races in that area,” he said.

While disinformation campaigns have occurred on some level for years, advancements in technology — notably artificial intelligence (AI) — make it easier for fake content to quickly spread online.

“AI creates new, cheaper, easier tools to create misleading impacts and videos in particular and to create just more content at scale,” said Alexandra Reeve Givens, the CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, told The Hill.

It’s not the first time the intelligence community has offered warnings about Chinese interference in U.S. elections.

A report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released earlier this year noted that TikTok accounts manned by China's "propaganda arm" allegedly targeted both Democrats and Republicans during the 2022 midterm elections and warned the country could take measures to get involved in the 2024 election.

“We regularly take action against deceptive behavior, including covert influence networks throughout the world, and have been transparent in reporting them publicly,” a TikTok spokesperson told news outlets at the time, including CNN. “TikTok has protected our platform through more than 150 elections globally and is continuing to work with electoral commissions, experts, and fact-checkers to safeguard our community during this historic election year.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have repeatedly sounded the alarm on these threats, with some publicly calling on major tech leaders to crack down on disinformation, which often spreads on their social media platforms with the help of AI.

The Biden administration has also ramped up counterefforts as seen by the Justice Department’s recent seizure of more than 30 web domains used by Russia for covert campaigns.

While efforts from Russian and Iranian actors typically seek to sow chaos, some experts suggest China’s priority might be keeping foreign policy hawks out of Congress.

“From a geopolitical perspective, they [China] don’t necessarily see their cause advanced by destabilization,” Cohen said. “Their objectives are to influence the outcome in a way that folks will be elected to Congress ... who may take a friendlier view.”

Foreign actors may try to meddle in U.S. elections, but experts say there’s different precautions that can be taken to address the issue head-on.

Morgan Ortagus, who served as a State Department spokesperson during the Trump administration, said campaigns should be practicing “good governance and good cyber security.” She also suggested it helps for campaigns to have good relationships with local FBI offices.

Regardless of which party ends up in the White House, Ortagus said the government needs to “get much more aggressive about exposing the senior leaders and naming and shaming who's actually behind this in the Chinese Communist Party.”

Campaigns must have up-to-date cybersecurity protections and fully understand the threats their systems could face, suggested Cohen, who previously worked in counterterrorism at the Department of Homeland Security.

This includes encrypting their data and having communication strategies in place between the campaigns and the government to quickly counter disinformation when it arises, he added.

“Once a piece of content is introduced into the ecosystem that's intended to misrepresent a campaign or a candidate, that can very quickly be corrected,” Cohen said. “And that applies not only to candidates and campaigns, but to local governments as well.”