Russian hackers plan to intervene and help Trump if election result delayed, report says

Groups could deface websites, release non-public information or take other steps to seed chaos and doubts

American intelligence officials fear that Russian groups intend to interfere in the final days of the presidential election or in the event of a delayed result to help Donald Trump secure the presidency, according to a report by The New York Times.

The report said that American intelligence agencies have pieced together details of plans by Russian groups to use hacked networks to interfere on behalf of Mr Trump, especially if the results are narrow.

The country has reportedly hacked into state and local computer networks in breaches that could allow Moscow broader access to American voting infrastructure, allowing them to disrupt it.

Officials did not make clear what they believed Russia planned to do but that they could potentially attempt to exacerbate disputes about the results by disrupting local computer systems.

Groups could deface websites, release non-public information, or take other steps to seed chaos and doubts about the integrity of the results, American officials briefed on the intelligence told The New York Times.

There is no evidence that the Russians have changed any vote tallies or voter registration information, officials told the newspaper. Officials also say that Russia’s ability to interfere with voter tallies nationwide is limited.

The claims come only a day after the Trump administration said that Iran used stolen registration data to send fake emails to incite unrest and damage the integrity of the 2020 election campaign.

Mr Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, and FBI director Christopher Wray said that both Iran and Russia obtained American voter registration data.

“They hope they will cause confusion, sow chaos, and undermine your confidence in American democracy,” Mr Ratcliffe said.

However, according to The New York Times, some US intelligence officials view Russia’s intentions as more significant than the spread of the emails.

The newspaper gave the example that one official compared the Iranian action to single-A baseball, while the Russians are major leaguers.

According to The New York Times the attacks were intended to give the impression that the countries have more influence in the intricacies of the American voting system than they do in reality, which could supplement fears driven over voter fraud.