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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has issued a demand to several of the top American internet domain registrars to clamp down on the abuse of their services by Russian disinformation actors who he alleged are attempting to interfere with and influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
Warner sent a letter earlier in October to several well-known companies in the web domain registering and hosting industry, including Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare, NewFold Digital, NameSilo and Verisign.
With his letter, Warner included an affidavit from the Department of Justice (DOJ) detailing a number of domains seized by the federal law enforcement agency that were purportedly used by foreign entities for election interference.
Information included in the affidavit supporting recent seizure of a number of these domains provides further indication of your industry’s apparent inattention to abuses by foreign actors engaged in covert influence,” Warner said in his letter.
The Russian actor at the center of the issue is known as “Doppelganger,” which has utilized domains registered through the aforementioned companies to host websites with names that closely parallel those of legitimate news outlets, leaving visitors to believe they are actually visiting authoritative websites.
Instead, Warner said, unsuspecting individuals are bombarded with illegitimate Russian-generated content designed to spread false narratives about U.S. presidential candidates.
In the context of the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election, the prospect of foreign actors impersonating state and local government websites — and seeding narratives related to election outcomes or electoral processes — is especially dire,” he said. “In the interim, your company must take immediate steps to address the continued abuse of your services for foreign covert influence — particularly in the days preceding, and weeks immediately following, Election Day.”
The Biden Admin seized over 30 websites thus far that they claim are responsible for spreading election disinformation, and Warner said to help ensure a fair election come November, domain registrars need to stop Russian abuse of their services.
With the prospect of a close election — and declassified intelligence demonstrating the past practice of foreign adversaries in spreading narratives that undermine confidence in election processes — Americans will be particularly reliant on media organizations and state and local government websites to provide authoritative and accurate election information,” he said, adding that Congress “may need to evaluate legislative remedies that promote greater diligence across the global domain name ecosystem.”
About The Author: John Colascione is Chief Executive Officer of Internet Marketing Services Inc. He specializes in Website Monetization, is a Google AdWords Certified Professional, authored a ‘how to’ book called ”Mastering Your Website‘, and is a key player in several Internet related businesses through his search engine strategy brand Searchen Networks®
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