In recent years, we have seen cyberattacks targeting election infrastructure, with the aim of either influencing results or manipulating those involved in the electoral process. However, a new twist emerged in November 2024 when a cyberattack impacted TikTok influencers with millions of followers, all to sway voters’ opinions.
Romania’s Intelligence Service (SRI) confirmed that a cyberattack on the country’s election infrastructure on November 19, 2024, led to cybercriminals gaining access to sensitive data, including credentials for election-related websites and critical information about the electoral framework. Shockingly, within minutes of breaching the network, the attackers leaked the stolen data on a Russian hacking forum.
Cybersecurity experts suggest the attack, which coincided with the first round of Romania’s presidential elections, may have been the result of a phishing campaign targeting employees or an exploitation of vulnerabilities in the SQL server. According to SRI, by November 25, just before the election concluded, there had been over 85,000 cyberattacks on the country’s election infrastructure.
The compromised data potentially included login credentials for websites such as bec.ro, roaep.ro, and registrulelectoral.ro.
Meanwhile, the cyberattack also impacted a number of TikTok influencers. SRI discovered that the hackers paid certain influencers to promote Calin Georgescu as the predicted winner of the presidency. Other influencers had their accounts hacked without their knowledge, with the breach lasting between 45 to 90 minutes before TikTok detected the issue and locked the affected accounts. TikTok then notified the account owners about the unauthorized access.
This campaign, which likely aimed to spread disinformation, fake reviews, and fraudulent exit polls, generated considerable attention and engagement, pushing content that aligned with specific political interests. The manipulated posts gained significant views and even trended for a period, potentially influencing the opinions of voters.
The Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) has directly accused the Russian government of orchestrating the attack, interpreting it as an attempt to undermine NATO and retaliate against Ukraine in the wake of ongoing hostilities with Vladimir Putin.
Interestingly, reports also suggest that TikTok could face an official ban after Donald Trump assumes office on January 20, 2025.
