Over 1,000 cyberattacks target Russian parliamentary elections

Russian authorities announced on Sunday that more than 1,000 cyberattacks targeted the parliamentary elections, coinciding with the third and final day of voting, amid accusations of attempts to disrupt the electoral process.

Agence France-Presse quoted a Russian official as saying the attacks targeted systems linked to voting, while the Central Election Commission confirmed that these systems were subjected to cyberattacks during the balloting.

Ella Pamfilova, chair of the Central Election Commission, stated that Moscow's electronic voting system faced "very strong" cyberattacks throughout the night, which continued almost without interruption, without specifying who was responsible.

Despite the attacks, Russian authorities confirmed that the electronic voting system continued to operate normally and that the voting process was not halted.

Pamfilova also noted incidents targeting communication lines in Russia's Far East, describing them as "deliberate sabotage" aimed at disrupting voting.

Pamfilova had previously warned, before voting began, of a significant increase in attacks on the election system and its infrastructure, saying their scale and intensity were unprecedented compared to previous years, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

Drone attacks coincide with cyber operations

The cyberattacks coincided with a large-scale Ukrainian drone offensive on Russian territory. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that more than 1,100 drones were intercepted overnight.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 450 drones were headed toward the capital, accusing Ukraine of trying to influence the elections, but confirmed that voting was not disrupted.

Kyiv did not state that the elections were a target of the attacks. Regarding the cyberattacks, initial reports did not provide independent evidence identifying the perpetrators, while Moscow had accused Ukraine before voting began of seeking to disrupt the elections—an accusation Ukraine has not commented on.

It is worth noting that the Russian parliamentary elections are held over three days, from September 18 to 20, to elect 450 members of the State Duma.