CISA and the FBI have released a public service announcement warning election and campaign officials about cyber threats during the 2026 US midterm elections. The agencies say malicious actors may use phishing and smishing to steal login credentials and other sensitive information, or to install malware on targeted devices.
The announcement says election officials, candidates and political organizations are attractive targets because of their access to voter registration data, current government officials and sensitive campaign information. It describes increasingly sophisticated campaigns that closely resemble legitimate communications across email, text, audio and video, designed to manipulate recipients into disclosing information or interacting with malicious links and attachments.
The agencies urge officials, campaign personnel and the public to review the announcement, follow recommended practices and stay vigilant for suspicious messages. The warning pairs with a second federal cyber publication in today’s edition, joint guidance on incident readiness for superintelligence training, and with X’s purge of 13,000 accounts linked to suspected election meddling, noted in the roundup.