Maryland Board of Elections urging voters to be vigilant during Cybersecurity Awareness Month

MARYLAND – The Maryland State Board of Elections is encouraging Marylanders to be vigilant against disinformation that claims cyberattacks have compromised a voter’s registration.

Officials with the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are warning that malicious actors are trying to undermine public confidence in the election infrastructure by claiming that cyberattacks compromised U.S. voter registration databases. Officials say most U.S. voter information ban be purchased legally or legitimately acquired through publicly available sources, so access to voter registration data does not solely indicate a voter registration database compromise.

The FBI and CISA say they have no information suggesting a cyberattack on U.S. election infrastructure has prevented an election from occurring, changed voter registration information, prevented an edible voter from casting a ballot, compromised the integrity of ballots cast, or disrupted the ability to count votes or transmit unofficial election results in a timely manner.

Marylanders are encouraged to follow the FBI and CISA’s cyber awareness tips:

• Do not accept claims of intrusion at face value, as they may be meant to influence public opinion and undermine public confidence in election administration
• Be cautious of social media posts, emails from unfamiliar email addresses, or phone calls or text messages from unknown sources that make suspicious claims about the election process or security