The upcoming 2024 US presidential election is being preceded by an escalation in cyber-threat activity, researchers from Fortinet’s cybersecurity division FortiGard Labs has found.

The report detailed the main threats driving the surge in cyber activity, ranging from phishing scams and even the sale of sensitive data of US citizens across the darknet.

Cybersecurity woes have been a top concern across the globe as around two billion people will have had the opportunity to vote in a nationwide election by the end of the year.

Phishing for Donations

Phishing attacks duping perspective voters is a top concern. Threat actors have created and are selling ‘phishing kits’, which help criminals impersonate US presidential candidates and their funding campaigns, on sale for $1260.

The kits can be used to collect credit card numbers and other personal details.

Over a thousand new domain names with links to the election have been created since the start of the year, sparking more concern as many of these sites are designed to mimic legitimate campaign donation sites.

Darknet Threats

According to the research, the darknet has become a cesspool of cyber-activity related to the election.

Social security numbers, email addresses and passwords make up some of the billions of personal details listed across darknet forums.

Around 3% of posts across the darknet involve businesses and government associations in the US, only intensifying concern about account takeovers, identity theft, and other cyber-crimes.

The amount of usernames and passwords generated from these organisations, amounting to 1.3 billion, increases the risk of effective credential stuffing attacks.

Recommended reading

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Ransomware 

US government agencies have continually been targeted in ransomware attacks, which saw an overall rise of 28% in 2024.

If these attacks are successful and data is encrypted, they could disrupt the electoral process or damage the reputation in the system.

Simple preventative measures and basic cyber hygiene can make a big difference in quelling this surge in attacks, Fortinet says.

Multi-factor authentication and regular software updates, as well as endpoint protection and cybersecurity training, are important steps in keeping systems secure.