Election surveys sent by MyPillow CEO-linked group prompt FBI referral 

White powder isn't nan only unusual point that has been sent to predetermination officials crossed nan state this season.

A bid of emails sent by a group led and funded by MyPillow CEO and predetermination denier Mike Lindell person been referred to nan Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to national officials, aft predetermination officers crossed nan state began uncovering what they said were misleading email messages. Those emails included a study asking for, among different things, delicate individual accusation from those tasked pinch overseeing nan voting process and specifications astir their offices' cybersecurity systems. The messages explained nan group was looking to thief boost nan nation's predetermination integrity.

In an early September email to section predetermination officials, obtained by ABC News, Lindell's "Election Crime Bureau (ECB)" said nan group was "investigating what steps person been taken" crossed nan state to "ensure nan information of nan upcoming 2024 election." The email asked recipients to return a study astir nan Center for Internet Security (CIS), a nonprofit focused connected cybersecurity that has been moving pinch predetermination offices to hole for adjacent week's predetermination and consequent ballot counting.

The study asked if recipients person a "membership agreement" pinch CIS and its Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), an inaugural funded by nan U.S. Department of Homeland Security to protect section predetermination offices. It besides asked for recipients' location addresses, what web and endpoint cybersecurity protections they had installed, and if those protections had been "provided by" CIS.

Within 2 hours of uncovering retired astir nan survey, CIS put retired an alert informing that its Cyber Threat Intelligence squad had "received aggregate reports" of nan "Misleading Email to Election Officials" that could falsely "lead a recipient to believe" nan statement was from their EI-ISAC. The group recommended that unit "not click connected immoderate links successful these emails aliases respond to them," and study immoderate suspicious emails to their Security Operations Center.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation seal is seen astatine FBI office successful Washington, D.C. June 14, 2018.

Yuri Gripas/Reuters, FILE

CIS said it besides notified nan FBI and nan Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), nan branch of nan Department of Homeland Security that is moving pinch section predetermination officials to safeguard nan election.

CISA referred ABC News to nan FBI for comment, which declined to do so.

Acting accelerated was a "top priority" to counteract immoderate disorder sewn by nan missives, Marci Andino, vice president of nan EI-ISAC astatine CIS, told ABC News – not to mention nan anticipation of a phishing aliases swatting attempt.

"We are present to summation nan cyber information posture of predetermination officials," Andino said. "There's nary morganatic logic why you would request their location address. They feared that they were being group up for swatting."

In nan move and toxic threat situation successful which nan predetermination is occurring, nan survey's effort to harvest specifications astir elections' cybersecurity protections was besides eyebrow-raising to predetermination officers.

"That was a reddish emblem for members," Andino said – since revealing really a fixed region protects its strategy could besides thief a imaginable malicious character ferret retired nan vulnerabilities.

Poll workers and predetermination unit astir nan state person been receiving threats of beingness unit and successful galore locations person had to acquisition information training.

"I'm not judge if nan questions successful that study crossed nan statement aliases not, but either measurement I'm not excited astir accusation for illustration that getting retired to nan public," said Joseph Kirk, nan predetermination supervisor successful Bartow County, Georgia. He had received nan ECB study – it had landed successful his spam folder.

"We're a small much protective of our location addresses than we utilized to be," Kirk said. "And conscionable arsenic acold arsenic security, we don't want to springiness anyone a playbook for what they'd person to conclusion to get into our networks."

"If personification was not reasoning and they gave retired that accusation – that's for illustration giving nan codification to your election's beforehand door," Andino said.

EI-ISAC has received reports from 58 of its members truthful far, according to CIS. Some reports indicated that aggregate group successful their section received nan email, aliases they were alert of different offices receiving it. Ohio's Secretary of State, for example, reported that they were search 93 emails that had been sent to various region boards of elections, according to CIS.

Lindell told ABC News he's "not progressive successful nan day-to-day" operations of ECB truthful he didn't cognize "what was sent out." But successful a telephone interview, he said "there was thing done incorrect pinch that survey," and that nan FBI had not reached retired to him. Lindell besides accused nan media of "doing a deed occupation connected nan Election Crime Bureau."

"I want to get free of nan physics voting machines, and you should attraction astir it too. There's thing incorrect pinch nan survey," Lindell said, adding they person "plenty of lawyers that look astatine everything we do."

Lindell has pushed mendacious and unsubstantiated claims that voting machines were manipulated to bargain nan 2020 predetermination from Donald Trump. Espousing those conspiracy theories, which person been wide debunked, has embroiled nan MyPillow CEO and others successful defamation lawsuits from voting instrumentality companies for illustration Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. Lindell has denied wrongdoing. In February, a national judge affirmed a $5 cardinal arbitration grant against Lindell, siding pinch a package technologist who challenged information that Lindell said proves China interfered successful nan 2020 predetermination successful favour of President Joe Biden.

Lindell referred circumstantial questions to Patrick Colbeck, main operating serviceman astatine Lindell Management.

Colbeck successful an email said nan distribution database they utilized to stock nan study was "obtained from publically disposable information regarding authorities bodies," and nan surveys were sent to "as galore [election officials] arsenic possible."

He said location was thing nefarious astir nan effort and nan extremity of requesting individual and rank accusation was to "inform authorities officials astir CIS statement and its operations" and to cross-reference respondents pinch anterior years' rank lists. ECB's survey, Colbeck said, had "received a precocious complaint of opening."

Mike Lindell speaks astatine a rally featuring Republican Presidential nominee erstwhile President Donald Trump and Republican vice statesmanlike nominee Sen. J.D. Vance, July 27, 2024, successful St Cloud, Minn.

Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Like Lindell, Colbeck said ECB had not been contacted by rule enforcement astir nan surveys.

"If they do, overmuch arsenic pinch immoderate statement committed to nan integrity of our elections, we will beryllium happy to stock our concerns pinch nan Center for Internet Security arsenic good arsenic different [organizations] which we judge discuss nan integrity of our predetermination system," Colbeck said.

Colbeck said nan alert astir their study was "obviously intended to frighten authorities officials distant from investigating CIS operations." He suggested nan informing astir ECB's perchance misleading study itself was "disinformation," and "the assemblage of nan email was intelligibly branded pinch nan ECB logo."

Even aft CIS' September alert, ECB's emails continued. In early October, ECB sent another, obtained by ABC News, which urged immoderate recipient who "is a personnel of nan EI-ISAC aliases has signed an statement pinch nan CIS" to click connected their "ECB Advisory for much accusation connected nan risks inherent pinch their censorship of important predetermination accusation and nan activities of nan [Election Integrity Partnership] arsenic a whole."

Election officials person been thrust into nan midst of an overheated nationalist sermon and an unprecedented threat situation some successful nan existent world and online, while safeguarding an predetermination apt to beryllium ligated — moreover arsenic immoderate still support unfounded yet enduring doubts astir nan legitimacy of nan past one. And successful nan grander scheme, experts say, it's not conscionable 1 time successful November astatine rumor erstwhile it comes to warding disconnected imaginable threats.

Recent bulletins from nan Department of Homeland Security's Intelligence and Analysis section person warned of unit that could turn retired of anger, extremism and conspiracy theories associated pinch nan wide predetermination – describing a toxic brew successful which bogus conspiracy theories and nationalist incitements merge pinch clone imagery and fraudulent accusation successful what's go a heavy armed, highly polarized nation.

"Accusations of fraud by notable figures pinch incitements to action aliases circulation of viral images aliases videos purporting to show fraud could further exacerbate nan threat environment," DHS said. The threat situation could peculiarly escalate successful nan arena of a contested aliases adjacent election, arsenic good arsenic variations successful authorities predetermination laws aliases unforeseen events impacting nan merchandise of results, aliases technological aliases administrative errors impacting ballot counting processes.

"We're really concerned astir threats going correct up until nan inauguration, truthful it won't extremity connected Election Day," Andino said. "It's not going to extremity erstwhile polls close. It whitethorn only beryllium getting cranked up then."

The 2024 statesmanlike predetermination marks nan first since nan Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection astatine nan U.S. Capitol, erstwhile rioters fought pinch Capitol constabulary astatine a rally to title nan certification of nan 2020 results. It will connection nan first accent trial of caller systems and guardrails that Congress put successful spot to guarantee America's agelong contented of nan serene transportation of statesmanlike power.

This year's voting process punctuates months of predetermination officials astatine each level of authorities weathering a maelstrom of misinformation and threats of bodily harm — from swatting attempts and explosive threats to suspicious achromatic powder sent to galore Secretary of States moreover arsenic nan first early ballots were group to beryllium cast.

Federal rule enforcement has for months warned that this predetermination is apt to look a analyzable array of threats, from elector manipulation to beingness unit — and for months, authorities person been gaming retired really to grip them.

Foreign actors will apt beryllium each excessively eager to amplify mendacious narratives successful nan play aft nan predetermination day, to sow doubts astir nan information of nan election, according to nationalist information officials — pinch power operations expected to proceed done Inauguration Day, according to a DNI charismatic who briefed reporters earlier this month.

"The IC measure says that moreover aft nan polls close, nan goals of overseas actors, peculiarly Russia, Iran and China, toward nan predetermination will persist and they will stay committed to trying to undermine U.S. democracy, stoke societal unrest and position their preferred candidates," according to an charismatic pinch nan Office of nan Director of National Intelligence.

As aggregate wars and governmental unit rage overseas, astatine home, partisan tensions already astatine a fever transportation person played retired connected a run way mile-marked by toxic rhetoric and hyperbole. In addition, dislike speech, misinformation and disinformation are moving rampant connected societal media, and quickly evolving exertion remains vulnerable, experts say.

Colbeck shrugged disconnected nan thought that successful an era pervaded by cyber hacks and compromised data, immoderate officials mightiness beryllium leery of sharing their information.

"We didn't do thing incorrect and you tin return that to nan bank," Lindell said. "I conscionable want to thief prevention our country."