In Romania, Russia has apparently intervened massively in the presidential election campaign. “There were also more than 100 attacks before the National Council elections in Austria,” warns a cyber professional.
The right-wing radical winner of the Romanian presidential elections, Călin Georgescu, was happy too soon. Last Friday, the constitutional court of the EU member state ruled that the presidential elections must be repeated. The reason was revelations from the Romanian domestic secret service.
Social media manipulated
The country has become the target of what it says is an “aggressive Russian hybrid attack.” Specifically, in the run-up to the elections, accounts were coordinated on a large scale, recommendation algorithms were manipulated and the candidate was massively promoted via the TikTok platform.
The result is known: pro-Russian candidate Georgescu-Roegen won with 23 percent, although it was previously predicted that the perceived outsider would achieve only single-digit results.
The domestic elections went off without a hitch
One person who is not surprised by the events in Romania is ‘Krone’ cyber expert Dr. Cornelis Granig. After the Austrian National Council elections in the fall, he spoke with Romania’s national cyber intelligence director. He had also warned of impending Russian attacks. In the recent past, Romania, in addition to Austria, has also often been the target of the hacker group ‘NoName’, which – as reported – repeatedly tries to paralyze the operating systems of Austrian authorities and companies.
Austrian institutions targeted
“We came out pretty well,” Granig said, referring to how Russian disinformation campaigns and hacker attacks could also have affected our elections. The fact is that between June and the National Council elections on September 29, more than 100 attacks on Austrian institutions, companies and parties took place. The Russians’ goal is to weaken democracy.
“We didn’t succeed; In Romania, the election of a candidate digitally called up by the Russians was prevented at the last minute,” says the cyber expert with relief. Now it is the job of the media to give the population pure wine. No matter how the re-choice turns out, it will leave a bad aftertaste.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
