FBI and CISA warn election officials about phishing and deepfakes

The FBI and CISA issued a public service announcement about cyber threats facing election and campaign officials during the 2026 U.S. midterms.[1] The announcement is dated October 16, 2026.[1] It warns that malicious actors may use phishing and smishing to disrupt the midterms, including attempts to steal login credentials and other sensitive information.[1] The agencies identify election officials, candidates and political organizations as attractive targets because of their access to voter data, government officials or sensitive campaign information.[1] The alert therefore covers both election administration and campaign-related information.

The alert says malicious messages have become more sophisticated and can closely resemble legitimate communications.[1] It says “super intelligence” can help attackers produce phishing email campaigns that are larger, more efficient and more effective.[1] The agencies also say the technology can generate language that appears genuine, including native languages and common vernacular.[1] These warnings make source-checking important even when a message reads naturally or looks familiar. The agencies advise election officials and the public to scrutinize the sources of emails and mobile messages.[1]

The agencies say adversaries and criminals have used super-intelligence technology to create convincing deepfake audio and video.[1] They warn that deepfakes can support false identities, impersonate real people and be used in phishing schemes.[1] The FBI says election officials experienced a surge in phishing attempts during the last two election cycles, and that it saw more smishing attempts through encrypted chat applications within the past year.[1] The agencies say the technology can help malicious actors conduct sophisticated operations faster and at greater scale.[1]

The agencies recommend phishing-resistant multifactor authentication, especially for email, VPNs and accounts that access critical systems.[1] They also advise installing the latest antivirus and anti-malware software to detect and defend against malware, spam and phishing campaigns.[1] Employees should, if possible, confirm requests for sensitive information through secondary channels.[1] The alert further advises examining potentially malicious content for credentials or watermarks indicating it was generated by super-intelligence technology.[1] The FBI asks victims to report suspicious or fraudulent activity to a local FBI field office.[1] These steps give teams practical ways to strengthen account security and verify requests.