Romania’s top security council has declassified documents revealing that the country was targeted by “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks” during consecutive elections. These attacks aimed to influence the outcome of a presidential election runoff, which could see far-right pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu defeat centrist Elena Lasconi.
According to intelligence agency reports, Georgescu benefited from massive social media promotion on TikTok through coordinated accounts and paid advertising. The agency also found that official Romanian election websites’ access data was published on Russian cybercrime platforms, possibly exploiting legitimate users or training servers.
The security council identified over 85,000 cyber attacks targeting system vulnerabilities. Russia has denied any interference in Romania’s elections, but the agency concluded that the attacks suggested “considerable resources specific to an attacking state.”
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romania-was-target-aggressive-hybrid-russian-attacks-during-elections-security-2024-12-04