National Electoral Council of the Republic of Ecuador (National Electoral Council)

History

2023: Electronic voting fails after hacker attack 120 thousand citizens could not vote

On August 20, 2023, the National Electoral Council of the Republic of Ecuador reported a hacker attack on its electronic voting platform. As a result of this cyber incident, tens of thousands of Ecuadorians living abroad were unable to vote during early presidential and parliamentary elections.

On voting day (August 20, 2023), many Ecuadorian citizens outside the country intended to use a special electronic platform for remote participation in elections. However, they were unable to do this due to system malfunctions. It is estimated that approximately 120 thousand Ecuadorians could not vote.

Tens of thousands of Ecuadorians living abroad failed to vote in early presidential and parliamentary elections

According to Diana Atamaint, head of the National Election Council of the republic, the problems arose due to the invasion of cybercriminals. Nothing is known about the nature of the attack, but it is noted that it affected primarily voters located in Europe.

According to a preliminary investigation, the telematic voting platform was subjected to cyber attacks that affected the availability of services. It must be stressed that the votes cast were not affected. It was established that the attacks came from seven countries:, India,, Bangladesh,, and Pakistan Russia, Ukraine- Indonesia China said Atamaint.

Whether any data was stolen during hacker intrusions is not specified. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, and based on the results, Ecuador's electoral authorities will decide on further action within the law. In general, according to Atamaint, early presidential and parliamentary elections were held in a peaceful environment and without serious incidents.

We thank and celebrate the excellent work of the armed forces and the police, which guaranteed peaceful and safe elections, "Atamaint added.[1]

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