Cyberattacks targeting Armenian information systems began one month before elections, official reveals

Various information systems in Armenia have been periodically targeted by cyberattacks since May 10, CEC Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan said on September 18, a day after revealing in parliament that the CEC system had come under a serious cyberattack during the tabulation of the June 7 parliamentary election results.

Speaking at a press briefing, Hovakimyan said the attack on the CEC system did not affect their work or the election results, stressing that the security of the system is ensured by a specialized body, the Information Systems Agency of Armenia.

“I am not a cybersecurity specialist. There is a specialized body, the Information Systems Agency of Armenia. We do not ensure that security; there is a professional body that ensures it. As CEC chairman, I am simply briefed on the results,” Hovakimyan said.

Asked why the CEC had not appealed to the relevant authorities to investigate the incident, Hovakimyan said the security of the commission’s system had been ensured by the specialized body from the outset.

“A cyberattack is not a report of a crime. That is a different process, and the relevant bodies deal with it. I can disclose what I have made public, while I do not know the remaining details. How much and what part the Information Systems Agency of Armenia will subsequently make public is a professional decision for them,” the CEC chairman said.

He did not provide details on which country or servers the attack originated from, stressing that this information is in the possession of the specialized body. Hovakimyan also said he did not know whether the law requires criminal proceedings to be initiated over the cyberattack.

According to the CEC chairman, even a successful attack on the system could not have changed the election results, as they are based on paper protocols drawn up by precinct electoral commissions.

“Our election results are on paper. All participating political parties, observers and journalists can have those protocols. If the system had been successfully damaged, the online publication we were carrying out would simply have stopped. In that case, the claim that the online publication of the results had been halted would have been true, but that did not happen. The results are on paper,” Hovakimyan stressed.