A vast infrastructure of disinformation coordinated by the Russian Federation has been used since 2022 to create an anti-system perception, which was shaped in key contexts, such as the 2024 presidential elections. This is the main conclusion of the report presented by President Nicușor Dan to European leaders. The report mentions that this infrastructure operated on four levels: cyber attacks, secret destabilizing actions, political subversion, and disinformation and propaganda.
“Romania was the preferred target of extensive hybrid campaigns in the context of the 2024 electoral scrutiny, hostile actors aiming to continuously shape public opinion, destabilize the decision-making capacity of government authorities, and dilute the degree of cohesion within society,” the report begins.
Cyber Actions
The cited report reveals that the infrastructure in Romania “has been the constant target of cyber attacks coordinated by actors from the Russian Federation” since 2022. Romanian officials recall the following events: all airport websites in Romania were subjected to a DDoS attack in May 2022.
The attacks were claimed by the Russian hacker group Killnet; Russian cyber attacks intensified in 2024. The most dangerous attacks, ransomware type, were associated with Russian groups such as Lockbit, Lynx, Akira, and RansomHub.
The attacks targeted 13 public administration institutions, 12 transport companies, 17 banking institutions, and others. 27 million cyber events targeted Romania last year. More than 85,000 cyber attacks took place just during the 2024 presidential elections. These attacks were located in 33 countries. During the elections, the login data of some employees of the Permanent Electoral Authority or the Central Electoral Office were compromised and published on Telegram or forums used by hackers.
Entities from the Russian Federation tried to take control of about 10 thousand surveillance cameras on the territory of five countries, including Romania.
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