The Spanish government has set up a special unit to fight cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns in view of the four elections coming up in April and May – a snap general election for April 28 and on May 26, the day that local, regional and European elections will take place.
A group of people working under the guidance of the Office of the Spanish Prime MInister are already at work searching the internet to identify falsehoods and distorted facts. Each ministry involved in the effort has been given a similar task, and told to communicate any findings for urgent analysis.
The initiative is inspired by the European Union’s own drive against disinformation ahead of the European parliament elections of May 26. In December, the European Commission announced more funds and prevention measures, including a rapid-alert system to help member states recognize and deal with disinformation campaigns.
European authorities have already asked for proof that the computer systems to be used in the elections have been protected against outside threats. Madrid has explained to Brussels that the vote count is done by hand (even if the data is collected in a computer system) and that companies delivering election-related services must first be certified by the National Encryption Center, which specializes in computer security.
Experts from the Spanish National Security Department, the Office of the State Secretary for Communication, and several Spanish ministries are leading the effort.
Spanish society is concerned about disinformation, polls show. Eight out of every 10 Spaniards view it as a problem for democracy in general and for Spain in particular, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey released last week.
