Moldova Accuses Russia of Cyberattack on Election Body

A few days before the parliamentary elections in Moldova on Sunday, the country's authorities announced a cyberattack on the Central Election Commission. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Technologies, Doina Nistor, directly blamed Russia for the attack, calling it part of a large-scale hybrid campaign aimed at destabilizing Moldova's democracy.

During a visit to Brussels, in an interview with Politico, Nistor, however, assured that the situation is currently under control. "This was a vulnerability that was discovered and has now been eliminated," she said, adding that the Central Election Commission is now fully protected. According to her, the cyberattack is part of a broader campaign planned by Russia "months ago," with the aim of undermining the country's democratic foundations.

The seriousness of the situation was further emphasized by the National Security Advisor to the President of Moldova, Stanislav Secrieru. In his assessment, "the scale of Russian interference today is much greater than what we saw in 2024."

Secrieru detailed that unprecedented efforts aimed at influencing the electoral process are being observed. He highlighted several key directions. According to him, the financial resources spent on vote-buying have significantly increased. Another direction is disinformation. Using artificial intelligence and through bot networks, huge volumes of fake news and disinformation are being spread to influence public opinion.

All this, according to the presidential advisor, attests to Moscow's clear intention. "Russia is doing everything possible to influence the outcome of these elections," concluded Stanislav Secrieru.