DHS: Hacking worries for the election include social media

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has warned social media companies to be on guard against attempts to sow distrust in the election results, an official said Friday.

{mosads}DHS offers voluntary cybersecurity help to states, local election boards and private vendors looking to shore up election websites and voter databases. Though attacks on those systems would not affect the election — voters incorrectly removed from rolls can still cast provisional ballots — the confusion an attack would cause can still damage the process. 

DHS officials acknowledged Friday that they have discussed with social media companies how they could be exploited to create uncertainty on Election Day.  

Russian intelligence agencies have been accused in the past of spreading misinformation about polling results to delegitimize the U.S. election. 

The DHS was clear in the briefing that is not focusing on the possibility of election machines being hacked.

The machines are not connected to the internet or each other and typically need to be hacked in person, one at a time. Due to the scale of an operation, it could take an army to manipulate enough machines to sway the results.