US Ambassador to Georgia warns authorities of Russian cyber attacks during parliamentary elections

A month before the parliamentary elections in Georgia, US Ambassador Kelly Degnan has called on the country’s authorities to speed up ratification of a cyber security strategy and action plan in this field. 

She made this statement on September 25 at the Tbilisi Cyber Security Forum.

“It is important that every voter coming to the polling station is assured of their security”, said Degnan. She added that the threat of cyber attacks would increase during the parliamentary elections.

•All you need to know about the critical upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia

•The oligarch’s hometown – the founding legend of the Georgian Dream

This is not the first time the US Ambassador has warned Georgia of the potential interference Russia may pose in the elections. Earlier Kelly Degnan made a corresponding statement in July. “Parliamentary elections in Georgia are Russia’s explicit target”, she said.

On September 25, Minister of Interior of Georgia Vakhtang Gomelauri said at the Tbilisi Cyber Security Forum that the country was actively working with its partners towards provision of cyber security.

___________________________

In the past several years Georgian agencies have come under cyber attacks multiple times. The latest was executed on resources associated with the healthcare system, including the Lugar Laboratory, on September 1. According to official data, the attack was carried out from the territory of a “neighboring country”.

On October 28, 2019 around 2,000 Georgian government, non-governmental, and media websites crushed as a result of a hacker attack. As revealed in the investigation conducted by US, UK, and EU specialists, Russia was the one standing behind this most large-scale attack.

Georgia became one of the first countries to receive massive cyber attacks from Russia. The “debut” occurred in August 2008 during the Russian-Georgian war.