“The ability of persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States to interfere in or undermine public confidence in United States elections, including through the unauthorized accessing of election and campaign infrastructure or the covert distribution of propaganda and disinformation, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” the release said.
The release noted that the proliferation of digital devices and internet-based communications has created vulnerabilities and magnified the scope and intensity of the threat of foreign interference.
The release claimed there is no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcome of any US election while noting that foreign powers historically sought to exploit the United States' free and open political system.