DEMOCRACY WATCHCyber-Attacks Against the U.K. Electoral Commission Reveal an Ongoing Threat to Democracy
The revelations this month that data on 40 million UK voters had been exposed to hackers came as no surprise to many cybersecurity experts, who have long pointed out the vulnerability of democracies to malicious online interference. The attack reflects the serious and ongoing threat to democracies posed by cyber-interference from foreign nations and criminal organizations.
The revelations this month that data on 40 million UK voters had been exposed to hackers came as no surprise to many cybersecurity experts, who have long pointed out the vulnerability of democracies to malicious online interference.
In this case, it appears that the data and systems of the UK’s Electoral Commission had been available to hackers for over a year. There was a significant delay in reporting the incident due to concerns that the voting networks were still not free from malicious presence or interference.
Officials have stated that the integrity of our elections is not under immediate threat, mainly due to the continued reliance across the UK electoral system on paper ballots.
However, the attack reflects the serious and ongoing threat to democracies posed by cyber-interference from foreign nations and criminal organizations. The details surrounding this latest attack are still emerging, and the source remains undetermined. But to understand and defend our electoral system effectively against such a threat, three main points need to be considered.
1. Hacking Democracy
The first is the determination and creativity of a variety of states to use cyber-attacks to subvert democracy and create mistrust in electoral systems around the world. With elections due next year in the US and UK, protecting the integrity of democratic countries is a growing concern.
We know that Russia, China and other nations including Iran have interfered in elections before – including, most notoriously, Russian hack and leak operations targeting US elections in 2016, which were directed at the Democratic party.
With tensions in the world increasing due to the war in Ukraine, and deteriorating relations between the west and China, leaders in Beijing and Moscow will see cyber-attacks as relatively easy ways to manipulate western countries.
They also see them as a means of casting further doubts on election integrity, planting narratives in public discourse via social media, and attempting to access data on politicians, parties, finance and political campaigns. These methods could be used to swing votes in favor of candidates who might take foreign policy approaches that are more in line with Russian and Chinese interests.
