Moscow’s electronic voting system reportedly checks users for active VPNs. The check doesn’t block voting, and the site’s code doesn’t reveal why the data is collected.
Moscow’s online voting system checks whether a voter is using a VPN, according to programmer Pyotr Zhizhin, who analyzed and documented in detail the scheme used to falsify electronic voting in the 2021 State Duma elections.
Moscow's electronic voting system reportedly performs a check to determine if a voter is utilizing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) before allowing them to cast their ballot, according to programmer Pyotr Zhizhin. The examination, detailed in a report on the 2021 State Duma elections, reveals that the voting platform elec.mos.ru displays an image from YouTube to the user's browser before login.
If the image loads successfully, it indicates the presence of a functional VPN. The browser subsequently transmits this information to the voting server. Subsequently, the voter logs in using their registered name on mos.ru. Importantly, the check does not hinder the voting process. According to Zhizhin, the system collects the voter's VPN status and simultaneously records their identity, with both pieces of data appearing in the same log file.
The code of the website does not disclose the purpose behind the VPN check or the duration for which the data is retained.
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