Russian hackers attack Romania on election day

The hackers attacked the websites of the Romanian Constitutional Court, the main government portal, and the website of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The websites of four presidential candidates were also attacked, including Crin Antonescu, who is supported by the Romanian ruling parties, and Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, who ran as an independent candidate.

Later, the hackers claimed responsibility for the cyberattack and listed the sites that were attacked. According to Romania's National Cybersecurity Directorate, the websites listed by the hacker group were already up and running at 2 p.m. local time.

Romanian presidential elections

This Sunday, May 4, Romania held presidential elections, the second attempt in Romania to elect a president in a few months. The reason for this was the annulment of the results of the previous vote held on November 24, 2024, in which the far-right pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu unexpectedly won first place. This decision was made by the country's Constitutional Court, based on a report by the intelligence services.

According to the Romanian intelligence services, violations such as illegal advertising and manipulation of TikTok were found in the Georgescu campaign, which contributed to the artificial growth of his popularity.

Russian hybrid attacks were also pointed out. As previously reported, in late February, Georgescu was arrested and suspended from participating in the repeat first round of elections.

On May 4, far-right politician George Simion announced that he would provide a leadership position for Bohdan if he wins the presidential election.

This time, the far-right candidate George Simion got the best result in the presidential election. The second place is taken by the former mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, who also goes through to the second round.

Read more about the presidential election in Romania and the candidates in the RBC-Ukraine article.