Romania hit by major election influence campaign, amid Russian cyber-attacks

Romanian authorities have disclosed details of what appears to be a significant attempt to interfere in the country’s presidential elections through TikTok and a series of cyberattacks.

The domestic intelligence service has indicated that the effort shows signs of being “coordinated by a state-sponsored actor.”

Calin Georgescu, a far-right NATO-sceptic who has previously expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin, was relatively unknown in Romania until he unexpectedly won the first round of voting in the presidential elections two weeks ago.

Romanian intelligence now attributes his sudden rise in popularity to a “highly organised” and “guerrilla” social media campaign. This effort involved coordinated messaging and the use of influencers, reportedly operated from “external locations” to evade platform controls.

A separate intelligence report identifies Romania as an “enemy state” in Moscow’s view, making it a priority target for “aggressive hybrid actions.”

via BBC