The President of Romania, Nicusor Dan, presented at the Summit of the European Political Community in Copenhagen, the report on the annulment of last year’s presidential elections. The cited analysis emphasizes the existence of an extensive disinformation infrastructure, coordinated by the Russian Federation, used since 2022 to create an anti-system perception and to influence key events, including the presidential election of 2024, reports IPN.
“Romania was the favored target of extensive hybrid campaigns in the context of the 2024 electoral scrutiny, hostile actors aiming at the continuous shaping of public opinion, destabilizing the decision-making capacity of government authorities, and diluting the degree of cohesion within society,” the report states.
According to the document, it appears that Romania’s infrastructure has been the constant target of cyber attacks coordinated by actors from Russia starting from 2022. Romanian officials recall the following events: all Romanian airport websites were subjected to a DDoS attack in May 2022.
The cyber attacks were claimed by the Russian group Killnet, and in 2024, they intensified. The most dangerous attacks, of the ransomware type, were attributed to the Russian groups Lockbit, Lynx, Akira, and RansomHub.
Among the victims of the attacks were 13 public administration institutions, 12 transport companies, and 17 banking institutions. Last year, Romania was the target of 27 million cyber events, of which over 85,000 took place during the presidential elections in the fall of 2024. The attacks were localized in 33 countries. During this period, the login data of the Permanent Electoral Authority employees and the Central Electoral Office were compromised and published on platforms such as Telegram or forums used by hackers.
Disclaimer: This material was produced within the project implemented by the IPN Press Agency – “Integration through Cooperation and Information” and is funded by the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova. The content of this publication does not represent the official position of the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova.
