(CNN) The head of the Department of Homeland Security warned state officials on Saturday that the threat from Russia targeting US elections has not dissipated.

Speaking at the summer conference of the National Association of Secretaries of State in Philadelphia on Saturday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the US intelligence community does "consistently observe malicious cyber activity from various actors against US election infrastructure," according to prepared remarks released by the department.

"There is little doubt that adversaries and non-state actors continue to view elections as a target for cyber and influence operations," Nielsen told the state officials, who are responsible for administering elections.

Still, she said, there are "no indications that Russia is targeting the 2018 US midterms at a scale or scope to match their activities in 2016."

Nielsen said the intelligence community has also observed "persistent Russian efforts using social media, sympathetic spokespeople, and other fronts to sow discord and divisiveness amongst the American people -- though not necessarily focused on specific politicians or political campaigns."

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