Russia claims massive cyberattack hit Moscow election system during Duma vote

The Central Election Commission in Moscow reported a massive cyberattack on the city's election system overnight into September 19, according to news agency RBC. Commission Chair Ella Pamfilova stated that the attack persisted almost continuously throughout the night and was still ongoing in the morning. She assured that the Moscow's remote electronic voting system was functioning normally and that voting had not been disrupted.

Olga Kirillova, Chair of the Moscow City Election Commission, also reported a surge in attacks on the electronic voting system the previous day. Technical specialists were working tirelessly to combat these attacks. Pamfilova further noted that both the frequency and the complexity of cyberattacks on Russia's election system had escalated since the 2024 presidential campaign.

The three-day voting period for the State Duma elections commenced on September 18. The Guardian described these elections as the inaugural ones since the commencement of Russia's full-scale conflict with Ukraine. These elections are anticipated to permit the Kremlin unimpeded mobilization. Polling stations will remain open until September 20, while voting in temporarily occupied Ukrainian regions commenced earlier.

On September 10, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service cautioned Russia about potentially orchestrating provocations and false-flag terrorist attacks during the election period in occupied territories. On September 11, the Atesh partisan movement reported widespread malpractices during "early voting" in occupied territories, including signatures appended to ballots in the names of Russian soldiers who had been killed or gone missing.