Inquiry to explore digital security of UK elections

Looking at direct and indirect cyber attacks

The UK's Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) is inviting comment on how to secure the UK's coming general election, which will be no later than 28th January 2025.

With elections taking place around the globe this year, on every continent, there is an increasing focus on the security of the democratic process.

As well as direct cyber attacks that could affect electoral security, misinformation is a top concern. It is a tactic hostile states have employed many times in recent years, and the spread of AI and deepfakes - already used to target Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer - take the threat level to a new dimension.

Marcus Beard, a former Downing Street official with experience in countering conspiracy theories, said of the Sunak deepfake: "With the advent of cheap, easy-to-use voice and face cloning, it takes very little knowledge and expertise to use a person's likeness for malicious purposes."

The JCNSS has identified cyber attacks as a major risk in the run-up to both US and UK elections this year. Similarly, the National Cyber Security Centre has warned that Russia is likely to attempt to test "the integrity of our systems" once again.

The new Online Safety Act goes some way towards countering mis- and disinformation on social media, but isn't an electoral protection silver bullet.

With that in mind, the JCNSS is inviting evidence on the following questions:

• The actual and perceived threats to the UK's democracy, and where those threats originate from;
• The objectives, working methods and resources of the Defending Democracy Taskforce and what it has achieved in the past year;
• What more the Taskforce could do before the next election to protect political parties, elected officials, and electoral infrastructure;
• How the Taskforce informs the decisions of the National Security Council, the N National Security Risk Assessment process and wider Government activity to counter state threats;
• How secure and resilient UK elections are against foreign interference;
• The role played by bodies such as the NCSC, Ofcom and the Electoral Commission when it comes to countering foreign interference, and whether they are properly equipped to do so;
• The role that generative AI and other emerging technologies might play in the upcoming elections;
• Strategies to improve public awareness of and resilience against disinformation, fraud and technological interference such as that generated by AI, or deepfakes;
• The effectiveness of the UK's legislative framework for defending democracy, including the new powers under the National Security Act 2023;
• The effectiveness of the Foreign Influence Registration scheme and how it strengthens the resilience of the political system;
• How threats to democracy might evolve in the medium- to long-term, and how prepared the UK is to deal with this;
• How the UK supports democracy abroad and how it can work with non-governmental organisations to contribute more widely;
• How the UK can work better with its allies to tackle interference from hostile states and uphold democratic values.

The Committee is inviting evidence until 18th March - see here for more information - with oral evidence hearings expected to begin this Spring.