Russian Central Election Commission comes under cyberattack

A cyber attack on Russia’s Central Election Commission, targeting its information center, the body’s secretary has said. The commission’s website earlier came under a DDoS attack from 15 countries. “We are registering what is, in fact, a cyber attack on our information center,” Commission’s secretary, Maya Grishina The Civic Chamber’s website observing the election was down after a DDoS attack, Foreign media reported, adding the problem is now over. The commission’s website was also attacked soon after voting began. A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack peaked between 2 AM and 5 AM today (March 18), chairperson Ella Pamfilova said. The attack originated from 15 countries, according to Pamfilova. According to Chairperson, Ella Pamfilova, the State Automated System Vybory (‘Elections’) cannot, however, be exposed to any cyber attacks, since it’s not connected to the global network.“It’s impossible to reach it,” she added. Further, she stated that when all the ballots have been counted after polling stations close, the data will be punched into the system, along with the information from the ballot boxes with scanners and fully electronic voting devices.