Cyber Crime
Hacking Democracy: Romanian Elections Hit by Massive Cyber Intrusions
Romania’s presidential elections faced a barrage of cyberattacks, allegedly by state-sponsored foreign actors. The attacks targeted critical electoral infrastructure and spread misinformation to influence voters. While no major disruptions were reported, the incidents underline the increasing risks to democratic processes worldwide.
Romania’s recent presidential elections have come under significant cyber threats allegedly orchestrated by foreign state-sponsored groups. According to a report by Romania’s intelligence agency, tens of thousands of intrusion attempts were recorded targeting the country’s electoral IT infrastructure. These incidents raised alarms about the integrity of the electoral process, particularly in the first round of the elections.
The Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), which oversees the National Cyberint Center, revealed that critical infrastructure, including election-related websites and servers, was attacked. The attacks aimed to disrupt electoral systems, manipulate data, and compromise voter confidence. The methods used included SQL injection and cross-site scripting, which allowed unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Leaked credentials from election-related websites were also discovered on Russian cybercrime forums. Although the data’s origin did not directly point to Russian involvement, it heightened concerns about external influence. Moreover, vulnerabilities in the IT systems of Romania’s electoral authority (AEP) were exploited, enabling attackers to escalate access and maintain control over compromised networks.
Adding to the challenges, an influence campaign primarily on TikTok spread politically charged messages to sway public opinion. The campaign reportedly bolstered the candidacy of far-right politician Calin Georgescu, whose views align with Russian interests. This campaign involved tens of thousands of coordinated accounts spreading unverified content.
Despite the scale and sophistication of the attacks, the SRI reported no critical disruption to the election’s core processes. However, investigations continue, with logs from over 33 countries being analyzed to determine the origin and impact of the attacks.
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