The cyberattacks that shaped global politics
On the eve of the 2016 United States presidential election, a scandal erupted with a devastating hack targeting the Democratic National Committee (DNC). This revelation significantly altered the landscape for Hillary Clinton, impacting her momentum in the race against Republican candidate Donald Trump. This cyberattack left an indelible mark on the course of history.
Subsequently, instances of political cyberattacks have surged in frequency and influence. Notable examples include the 2020 US Election, the 2021 Labour Party hack, the SolarWinds breach, the Pegasus scandal, and the 2017 French elections. These incidents are but a few among many politically motivated cyberattacks that pose a direct threat to democratic processes. These events should not be viewed in isolation but rather as integral components of a broader and deeply concerning trend.
Cyber Rights Organization (CRO), operating under the same entity overseeing groups like Help Ransomware and Reputation Up, possesses tangible hands-on experience dealing with cyberattacks. Their experts noted a notable increase in cyberattacks against political institutions and election processes over the past decade. They emphasize that this surge is not a mere coincidence but rather a reflection of the evolving dynamics in both politics and cyber warfare.
Additionally, Moonlock interviewed Blake Darché, who serves as the Head of Threat Intelligence at Cloudflare. Darché highlighted the interconnectedness between events and developments in the physical world and their repercussions in cyberspace. He pointed out that elections and political targets are no exception, with a noticeable spike in attack volumes occurring in the lead-up to and during election periods.
The first probe: Ukraine elections, 2014
In May 2014, just before the Ukrainian presidential elections, a pro-Russian hacktivist collective called CyberBerkut initiated a sequence of cyberattacks aimed at interfering with and manipulating the election process. The European Parliament disclosed that CyberBerkut hackers infiltrated the network and compromised the Central Election Commission's systems. Within this compromised network, they deployed malware with the potential to alter the election outcomes.
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However, this attack ultimately proved unsuccessful, as the malware was eliminated mere minutes before the election commenced on May 25. Subsequently, the Central Election Commission faced another assault a few months later in October when hackers disabled its website in anticipation of a parliamentary vote.
The consensus among security experts affirms that these occurrences marked the initial substantial cyberattacks on democratic elections carried out by foreign entities.
Numerous experts contend that these attacks served as a testing ground for Russia, providing them with invaluable insights into the mechanics of election-focused cyberattacks. Furthermore, it is widely believed that these attacks facilitated the development of more advanced and refined cyber techniques by Russia.
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