The threat to the UK’s July 4 general election, from misinformation and disinformation is likely to be high and could affect the election outcomes, according to a briefing by the cyber firm Zerofox.
It said that the UK’s 66 million-strong internet user base presents a conspicuous target for cyber-based campaigns. As in the previous December 2019 general election, the briefing said, the greatest disinformation threat comes from contesting political parties within the country. There have been targeted political ads, intensified by higher campaign spending limits and artificial intelligence (AI). In October 2023, an audio clip went viral on social media that purportedly showed opposition leader Keir Starmer verbally abusing his staff. As aired at Consec, the annual conference of the Association of Security Consultants, by a speaker from the UK official NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre), the clip was debunked as AI-generated. Satirical AI-generated clips depict Prime Minister Sunak pleading not to vote out his party alongside unverified statements about Conservative spending, including allegations Sunak sent funds to his associates
The UK election faces high risk from social media-based misinformation campaigns, the briefing went on. These campaigns can influence voter opinions. With most of the UK population active on social media and having significant screen time, the target audience can be continuously engaged. A network of X accounts disseminated a manipulated video of Labour Party’s Wes Streeting seemingly insulting former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott. The video, which was doctored and shared widely, misrepresented Streeting’s actual words.
ZeroFox assessed that foreign threat actors pose a significant risk in the upcoming UK elections, potentially influencing public opinion via multiple avenues— including distributing disinformation campaigns, hacking voter databases, or attempting to disrupt voting processes. The UK’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy has alerted Prime Minister Sunak to the need for stronger measures against foreign interference in the upcoming general election; as reported in the July edition of Professional Security Magazine.
ZeroFox assessed there is a medium-high threat of foreign disinformation campaigns influencing the UK elections. Although not likely to directly disrupt the voting processes, these campaigns push geopolitical propaganda and disinformation that are likely to influence voter opinion, and possibly turnout. Chinese, Russian, and other foreign nation-based such misinformation has been identified on social media and digital platforms.
The briefing also raised the potential for malinformation, deliberate false information with harmful intent, as in recent years the UK authorities have identified several data breaches affecting UK voters (such as at the Electoral Commission). Last but not least, hacktivists across the world will likely target the upcoming UK elections to disrupt proceedings, steal sensitive data, conduct DDoS or ransomware attacks paralyzing key systems, carry out phishing schemes targeting officials and participants, or make political statements. Hacktivist groups were observed conducting DDoS attacks on European political parties in the lead-up to the recent EU elections. ZeroFox assessed that hacktivists could similarly target the UK to launch DDoS attacks against political parties to gain attention for their cause. Among its conclusions; even those disinterested in the outcome see the election as an opportunity to access voter data that they can later weaponise.
