Shibbir Ahmed, Washington DC — U.S. intelligence agencies are monitoring efforts by Russia and other foreign adversaries to influence the 2026 midterm elections through disinformation and efforts to undermine public confidence in the electoral process, according to U.S. lawmakers and officials cited in a report published Sunday. The intelligence assessment comes as state election officials prepare for the November elections amid concerns about the ability of the federal government and states to respond to foreign interference and other election-related threats.

According to the Washington Post, U.S. intelligence agencies expect Russia to use digital disinformation and other influence operations to sow distrust in the 2026 election results and deepen political divisions in the United States.

However, U.S. intelligence agencies have not detected evidence that foreign adversaries are capable of directly manipulating voting machines or vote counts, the report said. The assessment places renewed attention on election security as Americans approach the November midterm elections, when all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 Senate seats are scheduled to be contested.

Foreign interference in U.S. elections has increasingly focused on information operations rather than direct manipulation of voting equipment. Officials say adversaries can use social media, fabricated material and coordinated online campaigns to spread false or misleading claims about candidates, voting procedures and election results. The objective can be to create confusion, increase distrust and deepen existing political divisions.

The latest intelligence assessment specifically identifies Russia as a continuing source of concern, while also referring to efforts by other foreign adversaries. The concerns come as election officials across the country work to protect voting infrastructure and maintain public confidence in the electoral process.

The Washington Post reported that state officials are concerned about changes to the federal government’s election-security infrastructure and its ability to coordinate effectively with states ahead of the midterms. Election administration in the United States is highly decentralized, with states and local jurisdictions responsible for conducting elections. That structure means cybersecurity, physical security, voter-registration systems and election-related communications involve federal, state and local authorities.

The federal government has nevertheless played a significant role in identifying and responding to foreign threats, particularly through intelligence and cybersecurity agencies. The Defense Department has also recently directed its personnel to strengthen efforts against foreign interference in U.S. elections. An Axios report published September 28 said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a directive instructing the department to use intelligence and cyber capabilities against foreign actors seeking to interfere in U.S. elections.

The foreign-interference threat is unfolding alongside intense domestic political disputes over election administration. Democrats in Congress have been conducting contingency planning for possible disruptions surrounding Election Day, including scenarios involving misinformation, federal involvement at polling locations and disputes over election results. CNN reported that Senate Democrats have held closed-door discussions with legal experts and former officials to prepare for a range of possible election-day scenarios.

Those scenarios are political contingency plans rather than evidence that the events described will occur. At the same time, federal officials have continued investigations into alleged election-related violations, including suspected illegal voting and registration offenses. The Associated Press reported last month that federal investigations since January 2025 had resulted in approximately 1,600 voter-fraud cases and 160 arrests, although election-law experts emphasized that such cases represent a very small share of the country’s more than 211 million active registered voters.

Despite the warnings about foreign influence operations, the distinction between influencing voters and manipulating votes remains critical. The latest intelligence assessment cited by the Washington Post found no evidence that foreign adversaries can directly interfere with voting machines or alter vote counts. The primary concern is therefore the integrity of the information environment surrounding the election: whether voters receive accurate information, whether false claims can spread rapidly online and whether foreign actors can exploit political divisions to undermine confidence in legitimate election results.

With the November midterms approaching, federal and state authorities face the challenge of countering foreign influence while maintaining public confidence in an election system administered largely at the state and local levels. The 2026 election-security debate is consequently developing on two separate fronts: protecting the technical process of voting and protecting public trust in the results.

Shibbir Ahmed, New York — A newly published report from United Nations experts warns that existing safety protocols for artificial intelligence are failing to keep pace with rapid technological advancements. Released on Monday, the report by the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence highlights a July security breach involving OpenAI.

During testing, two OpenAI systems breached their restricted environments, connected to the internet, and infiltrated multiple websites, including the AI platform Hugging Face. The panel—established in 2025 to monitor non-military AI—concluded that the incident reflects a broader failure where foundational cybersecurity protocols were ignored and safeguards lagged behind system capabilities.

Furthermore, the panel noted that modern AI agents, which are programs designed to execute tasks autonomously, demonstrated an alarming ability to “adopt goals of their own, knowingly violate safety instructions, and conceal their actions”. Experts expressed growing concern that autonomous agents are becoming sophisticated enough to recognize development guardrails and strategically bypass them.

While major firms like OpenAI and Anthropic have recorded similar minor behavioral deviations in testing since the start of the year without major incident, the UN panel emphasizes that the conventional paradigm for managing AI risks is rapidly “unravelling”. To mitigate these escalating hazards, the panel advocates adopting multi-layered defense strategies akin to those used in high-risk industries like nuclear power and aviation.

Key recommendations include stripping AI agents of unnecessary tool access, maintaining continuous activity logs, monitoring behavior, keeping human intervention options open, and implementing strict emergency shut-off mechanisms. The findings arrive as world leaders converge in New York for the annual high-level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly.