The Election Security Exchange will be sending out this newsletter regularly to provide best-practice guidance and threat awareness and to highlight publicly available, nonpartisan resources you can use to improve the security posture of your office.
The Election Security Exchange will be sending out this newsletter regularly to provide best-practice guidance and threat awareness and to highlight publicly available, nonpartisan resources you can use to improve the security posture of your office.
In this issue:
Situation Room: Criminal networks are exploiting swatting attacks for extortion and coercion, according to FBI reports. This heightens the risk that such networks will use swatting to intimidate election officials.
Resource Library: The Election Security Exchange library offers security tools, training materials, and practical guidance to build resilience, reduce risk, and secure infrastructure.
Planning Desk: Each issue, the Planning Desk suggests a step to build your security plan for the November 2026 general election, adaptable to prior and future elections. Kick off this week with Building Your Security Partner List.
Swatting Tied to Criminal Networks
Organized cybercriminal networks have begun using swatting alongside doxxing and sextortion to coerce victims, according to the FBI.
Why does it matter for elections? The entry of criminal networks into swatting increases the likelihood that election officials may be targeted by these organizations. It also provides a potential partner for foreign or political actors who might benefit from intimidating election officials but don’t want it to be traced back to them.
Details: The investigation of a swatting incident in Minnesota found a link to online harassment of a child. The trail led to the arrest of a suspect in the United Kingdom. Local officials in Minnesota subsequently received death threats believed to come from associates in the network.
The threat in the Minnesota case aligns with the dangers described in two FBI public service announcements (PSAs) regarding similar networks. These bulletins were released on March 6, 2025, and July 23, 2025.
Attack Method:
The point of entry for the attackers was learning personal details about the child, like their home address. They also attempted to leverage other personal information, including things a child might not want parents to know.
Defensive Actions You Can Take:
Limit online availability of your personal information and that of staff.
Discuss support options with staff to minimize their vulnerability to leaked personal information or online activity. Coordinate with 911 to flag your personal and official addresses (ballot counting, polling locations, etc.), and discuss procedures for recognizing hoax calls using masked caller IDs, synthetic voices, and other cues.
Report suspicious calls, emails, and breaches of personal information or security to local law enforcement and the FBI Elections Crime Coordinator.
The Situation Room focuses on real security incidents and threats in the news relevant to election security. To review previous issues, see the newsletter archive.
The Resource Library on the Election Security Exchange website, securingelections.org, is a one-stop hub for publicly available, trusted, nonpartisan election security tools and information.
The library curates a collection of materials from the Election Security Exchange, industry leaders, and government and nonprofit partners. From foundational guides to specialized tools, each resource is selected to support election officials, IT teams, election vendors, and other partners in strengthening the security and resilience of your operations.
Whether you are looking for training materials, planning templates, or security best practices, you’ll find practical, reliable, nonpartisan content to add to your toolbox. We invite you to explore the library and discover insights to improve your readiness and reinforce trust in the electoral process.
The Resource Library section of the newsletter spotlights election security resources. All highlighted resources are available online in the Resource Library.
Election Day - 39 weeks (E-39): Build your list of security partners!
With 39 weeks until the 2026 general election and even fewer before the primary elections, establishing this team will strengthen relationships, open communication channels, and ensure help is ready when you need it most.
Step 1: Dedicate 15-20 minutes to creating a contact list of potential partners.
Step 2:List the key people from the group below. Don't worry about finalizing the list, just get it started.
The Planning Desk is a running timeline of key election security tasks. As we publish future issues, you can find prior editions in the newsletter archive.
