Cyberattacks disrupted the current presidential election in Ecuador

The national polls in Ecuador have experienced numerous difficulties with online voting, especially from overseas voters. Based on reports, the cause of the incidents is a cyberattack from multiple countries.

Absentee voters took to social media to express their frustration for being unable to cast their votes on the day of the polls through an online system developed by their government. The recent tally showed that more than 120,000 Ecuadoreans lived overseas yet still registered as a voter in the election and could not access the voting system before the polls ended.

 

The National Electoral Council for the election in Ecuador blamed the disruptions on cyberattacks.

 

Earlier this week, the president of the National Electoral Council revealed in a press conference that the disruption in the election in Ecuador caused issues due to the cyberattacks on the telematic voting. However, they did not elaborate on the nature of the attack.

The representative also notified people that their preliminary investigation showed that their telematic voting platform experienced cyberattacks that impacted the fluidity of accessing the vote.

They have also clarified and explained that the cast votes have not suffered any violations upon submission. Despite not disclosing the nature of the attack, the council confirmed that countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, and Ukraine were responsible for the cyberattacks.

Furthermore, the Electoral authorities revealed that they will conduct further investigation within their framework and identify appropriate laws for the issue.

The cyberattacks could also have more implications for the current elections as the first-place candidate will fake the second place in a runoff election in October. These malicious campaigns have alarmed Ecuadorians since one of the presidential candidates was recently assassinated during a campaign in Quito earlier this month.

Cyberattacks and assassinations have been prevalent nationwide, which could leave a mark on their democracy. Fortunately, the voting process in the local sector has been smooth, but there are numerous issues with overseas voting that the government could not overlook. Therefore, citizens could not avoid being suspicious about the entire election process and the candidates that would win.