As the United States enters full swing into its next presidential election, people are feeling worried, unsafe, and afraid.

And none of that has to do with who wins.

According to new research from Malwarebytes, people see this election season as a particularly risky time for their online privacy and cybersecurity. Political ads could be hiding online scams, many people feel, and the election, they say, will likely fall victim to some type of “cyber interference.” Amidst this broader turbulence, 32% are “concerned about who could learn [their] vote”—be they family, spouses, or cybercriminals.

For this research, Malwarebytes conducted a pulse survey of its newsletter readers between September 5 and 16, 2024, via the Alchemer Survey platform. In total, 1600 people across the globe responded.

Broadly, Malwarebytes found that:

• 74% of people “consider US election season a risky time for personal information.”
• Despite a tight presidential race, a shocking 3% of people said they will not vote because of “privacy or security concerns.”
• Distrust in political ads is broad—62% said they “disagree” or “strongly disagree” that the information they receive in US election-related ads is trustworthy.
• The fears around election ads are not just about trustworthiness, but about harm. 52% are “very concerned” or “concerned” about “falling prey to a scam when interacting with political messages.” 
• 57% have responded to these concerns with action, taking several steps to protect their personal information during this election season.

The electoral process is (forgive us) a lot like cybersecurity: It scares people, it’s hopelessly baroque, and, through a lack of participation, it can produce unwanted results.

Here is what Malwarebytes discovered about the intersection of cybersecurity and elections, with additional guidance on how to protect personal information this season.

Open distrust

Getting more than 70% of people to agree on anything is remarkable. And yet, 74% of survey participants said that they “consider US election season a risky time for personal information.” Drilling further into the data, 56% said they were “extremely concerned” or “very concerned” about the security of their personal information during this election season.

The reasons could be obvious. Unlike any other season in America, election season might bring the highest volume of advertisements sent directly to people’s homes, phones, and email accounts—and the accuracy and speed at which they come can feel invasive. The network of data brokers that political campaigns rely on to target voters with ads is enormous, as one Washington Post reporter found in 2020, with “3,000 data points on every voter.”

Escaping this data collection regime has proven difficult for most people. Just 9.6% of survey participants said they “have not received any election related ads” this year.

Elsewhere, 60% had received election-related ads through emails, 58% through physical mailers, 55% through text messages, 40% through social media, and 29% through phone calls.

Those ads may be falling on deaf ears, though. When asked whether they trust the information they receive from US election-related ads, just a combined 5% said they “agree” or “strongly agree” with the sentiment.

A focus on cybercrime

While people hold a sense of distrust for election-related ads, they also revealed another emotion towards them: Fear.

That’s because the majority of survey participants said they were worried that these ads and other political messages could be hiding dangerous scams underneath. Most people (52%) said they were “very concerned” or “concerned” about “falling prey to a scam when interacting with political messages.” 

It’s a well-founded concern as, once again during this election season, cybercriminals are trying to lure Americans into online scams with messages about updated voter registrations, campaign donations, and more.

Survey participants also showed widespread fear about whether cybercriminals could reveal who they voted for.

Remember that 32% of participants said they were worried that someone “could learn about [their] vote.” When asked who, specifically, they were worried about, 73% said cybercriminals. A revealing 2% held fears around their votes being exposed to a family member or a spouse.

Finally, though Malwarebytes did not directly tie the concept of “cybercrime” to the election itself, survey participants were asked about “cyber interference.” When rating their own confidence level in whether the election process will be free from cyber interference, a combined 74% said they were “not very confident” or “not confident at all.”

This statistic should not be interpreted to mean that 74% of people believe the election will be “hacked” or that votes will be switched by an adversarial government—a scenario that has never provably occurred in the US. Instead, it may point to how people interpret “cyber interference. It could include, for example, the pilfering of personal data for political advertisements, or the wanton online distribution of political disinformation to sway voters.

Taking action

With distrust rampant and anxiety wide, people are refusing to enter this election season without some precautions.

Two thirds of survey participants (66%) have either taken steps or plan to take steps to secure their personal data during this election season. Malwarebytes asked about several cybersecurity and online privacy measures that, particularly when facing off against online scams, could protect people from having their accounts taken over, their identities stolen, or even their personal information exposed for marketing reasons.

Survey participants took on the following measures:

• 77% enabled Two Factor Authentication (2FA) or Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) across their accounts
• 47% actively use a password manager
• 41% purchased identity theft protection services
• 31% researched the origins of the campaigns they engage with
• 24% locked down their social media profiles
• 12% used a data broker removal service

On the reverse, Malwarebytes found a small but critical number of people who will refuse to vote during this election “due to privacy or security concerns”—a combined 3% “agreed” or “strongly agreed” with this sentiment.

Staying safe

There’s good reason this election season for Americans to be concerned about their online privacy and security—but that doesn’t mean that Americans have to spend the next month riddled with anxiety. This month, people can take the following advice to secure their personal information, lock down their sensitive accounts, and, overall, stay safe from malicious scammers and cybercriminals.

• Watch out for fake emails and text messages. Unless you directly reach out, avoid clicking on links or engaging with these political communications. Instead, go directly to the campaign’s website for information or links to donate.  
• Be mindful of sharing personal information. As a general rule, don’t engage in surveys that ask for personal information. You can check what information is already available about you on the dark web with our free Digital Footprint scan or take the first step in removing your personal information from the network of data brokers online with our Personal Data Remover scan.  
• Avoid robocalls and phone scams. Hackers can spoof phone numbers and impersonate official organizations. Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls. Immediately hang up, don’t share personal information, and report the phone number.