Microsoft boss warns of meddling ahead of U.S. presidential election

Brad Smith, the president of technology giant Microsoft has issued a stark warning regarding foreign attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election in November.

“The most perilous moment will come, I think, 48 hours before the election,” Smith told a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday.

“That’s the lesson to be learned from, say, the Slovakian election last fall,” he added.

Smith said two days ahead of the parliamentary election vote in the European country “a Russian group” released and pushed, including by amplifying the story with a top Russian official, a deep fake audio purporting to reveal a vote-stealing plot.

“The Russian government is very capable, very sophisticated, not just in technology but in social science,” Smith said.

The Microsoft boss stressed that “there are real and serious threats,” including in the upcoming U.S. presidential election set to take place on Nov. 5.

The race for the White House may be between Republican candidate Donald Trump and the Democrats’ Kamala Harris, “but this is also becoming an election of Iran versus Trump and Russia versus Harris,” the Microsoft boss said.

“It is an election where Russia, Iran, and China are united with the common interest in discrediting democracy in the eyes of our voters,” Smith warned.

Just a few days ago, U.S. authorities exposed a Russian-sponsored campaign that deployed right-wing influencers.

Accounts masquerading as the websites of news outlets like conservative channel Fox News and newspaper The Washington Post posted fake stories.

On Wednesday, a Russian group published a video of Harris, manipulated with the help of artificial intelligence, in which words were put into her mouth that she never said, said Smith.

The administration in Washington has accused Russia of interfering in the U.S. presidential election campaign.

Similar accusations had been made in previous elections.

Smith testified alongside Meta’s Nick Clegg and Kent Walker, president and chief legal officer for Google’s Alphabet.