WTF?! Romanian Presidential Election Results Nullified Due to Cyberattacks
Recently, Romania faced a tumultuous period in its democratic process. The country’s Intelligence Service uncovered startling information regarding the presidential elections held this year. Over 85,000 cyberattacks originating from 33 different nations targeted Romania’s central election infrastructure on November 19.
The hackers utilized various tactics, including SQL injection and cross-site scripting, to access voter registration websites and manipulate data. Furthermore, leaked account credentials surfaced on a Russian hacker forum just days before the initial round of voting, raising suspicions of state-sponsored interference due to the extensive scale and resources involved.
A separate declassified report exposed a coordinated Russian influence campaign on TikTok favoring presidential candidate Calin Georgescu. Over 100 Romanian TikTok influencers with a collective 8 million followers were allegedly paid to promote Georgescu using specific hashtags, with the campaign gaining momentum and reaching the top trending videos list by late November.
The Intelligence Service linked the campaign to Russia, citing similarities between Georgescu’s messaging and a prior Russian-backed effort in Moldova. While not explicitly naming Russia as the perpetrator, investigators suspect the country’s involvement due to Romania’s NATO affiliation, viewing it as a strategic adversary.
In light of these revelations jeopardizing the election’s integrity, Romania’s constitutional court made the decision to annul the results and schedule a new round of voting. While a necessary step, this move may undermine public trust in the electoral process.
Image credit: Sasha Pleshco
