Federal officials warn of Russian hacking campaign as election security concerns grow

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Federal cybersecurity officials are warning of a potentially far-reaching hacking campaign linked to the Russian government, prompting renewed concerns about election security as elections approach.

According to intelligence sources, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's staff and representatives from other governors' offices recently met to discuss protections against election-related threats, including foreign malign influence operations and disinformation campaigns.

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The meeting came shortly before federal cybersecurity officials issued a new warning to telecommunications companies, the energy sector, water utilities, hospitals, and federal, state and local governments. The alert warned of new efforts by FSB-16, a branch of Russia's Federal Security Service, to gain access to critical systems in Illinois and across the United States.

"Desperate entities will take desperate measures," said Jake Braun, executive director of the University of Chicago Cyber Policy initiative.

Braun said advances in artificial intelligence have dramatically increased the scale and sophistication of cyberattacks.

"AI really puts that on overdrive ... to send out hundreds of 1000s, millions, and millions of attacks all at once to millions of potential victims, whether they be small businesses, local governments, whatever," Braun said. "And so that was possible before, but not with the level of sophistication and the level of reach that it is now."

Braun, a former senior counselor to the secretary of Homeland Security, said the warning carries added significance because of Russia's infiltration of the Illinois State Board of Elections in July 2016.

"So yes, absolutely, Russia is desperate right now. Ukraine has them on the ropes, and there's no telling what they're going to do in the midterms or any other time," Braun said.

According to federal indictments against a dozen Russian operatives, cyber spies stole the names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers of about half a million Illinois voters in the 2016 breach.

Illinois election officials have maintained that no votes were changed.

Election security efforts in Illinois are monitored through the Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center, or STIC, headquartered in Springfield. Among its responsibilities, the center monitors intelligence streams for evidence of foreign probes, tampering or cyberattacks targeting election systems.

Security experts said the campaign to dampen American confidence is unrelenting.

"They don't care about our personal politics or anything," Braun said. "They want to undermine American faith in our institutions and in our country, and the way they will go about doing that is undermining the infrastructure that underpins those institutions."

Federal officials and cybersecurity experts continue to urge businesses, government agencies and other institutions to take steps to mitigate cyber threats as concerns over foreign interference and critical infrastructure security persist.