Cyberattack hits online voting platform for French left's presidential primary
Bots flooded the e-votez voting platform from the opening of the first round at 8:00 on Friday, 9 October, according to the organising commission. Organisers say voting has continued without interruption and that recorded votes are not compromised.
The attack
The online voting platform for the first round of the centre-left presidential primary came under attack from the moment it opened at 8:00 on Friday 9 October. The platform is run by the provider e-votez, and the organising commission described the attack as a flood of fictitious connections generated by bots. According to the commission, the aim was to push the number of simultaneous connections to its maximum, which kept part of the electorate from casting its vote. Patrick Mennucci, president of the organising commission, said the fake connections were preventing some voters from voting.
- Voting opens on the e-votez platform as the cyberattack begins
- Organising commission announces the attack and says the vote's integrity is not compromised
- First round of voting closes
What organisers say
Mennucci said the platform had not been interrupted at any point, and the commission's statement makes the same claim about the vote. The commission says the integrity of the votes already recorded is not compromised.
At no time has the voting platform been interrupted, and the vote has been able to continue without interruption since its opening.
The commission said that all necessary measures had been taken to keep the vote running and to let every voter cast a ballot.
Voting continues
The first round is scheduled to run until Saturday at 20:00. Around 140,000 people are called to vote, and Ouest France puts the number of registered participants at 140,282. Voters choose among five candidates: Raphael Glucksmann, a Place publique MEP; Olivier Faure, 58, deputy for Seine-et-Marne and first secretary of the Socialist Party; Segolene Royal, a former presidential candidate in 2007; Jerome Guedj, a Socialist deputy; and Emmanuel Maurel, a deputy for the Gauche republicaine et socialiste (GRS). A helpline run by the three organising parties remains active for voters who face connection problems, and voters are reminded that the vote takes place over two days.
Political response
The Socialist Party, Place publique and the Gauche republicaine et socialiste condemned the attempt to disrupt the democratic process. The three parties said they would refer the attack to the courts. The organisers' communique presents the attack as a deliberate attempt to hamper the vote rather than a technical failure.
