Russian election authorities have reported blocking approximately 160,000 cyberattacks on the country’s remote electronic voting resources. The attacks were aimed at the voting portal, with 30,000 attacks specifically targeting the monitoring portal for the remote electronic voting system, as per Ella Pamfilova, head of the Russian Central Election Commission.
Pamfilova highlighted that the cyberattack activity notably surged on Saturday compared to Friday but ultimately failed. Vadim Kovalev, head of the Public Headquarters for Election Observation in Moscow, revealed that the cyberattacks on Moscow’s information systems were traced back to the US and the UK.
“We see that most of the servers where the attacks come from are located in the US and the UK, at least it is the way they are detected,” Kovalev stated. Russia’s eighth presidential election, scheduled for March 15-17, has introduced remote electronic voting in certain parts of the country for the first time. The motive behind the cyberattacks remains unclear.
It is essential for authorities to further investigate the origins and intentions behind these cyberattacks to ensure the integrity of the election process. With technology playing a significant role in modern elections, protecting voting resources from malicious interference is crucial in upholding the democratic values of the electoral system.
