Troll JF
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 6, 2015
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Daah Putin anataka Kuweka Viongozi wake duniani naona anataka kuhack matokeo ya Uchaguzi ya Ufaransa
Just months after the U.S. intelligence community determined that the Russian government was behind cyberattacks during the American presidential campaign, the same thing appears to be happening in France.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault lashed Russia for suspected hacks in the country, calling them “unacceptable.”
“This form of interference in French democratic life is unacceptable and I denounce it,” he said in an interview that appeared Sunday in Journal du Dimanche.
Ayrault earlier told parliament: “After what happened in the United States, it is our responsibility to take all steps necessary to ensure that the integrity of our democratic process is fully respected.”
Aggressive election interference appears to be the latest strategy of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s drive to impose his will across borders.
Officials from the Netherlands fear that their country was the target of a fake information campaign last year to sway a vote on a referendum. A so-called Ukrainian team helped convince the Dutch to reject a European Union trade pact with the country, the New York Times reported. But it turned out the team was actually Russian.
Dutch elections are coming up in March, and officials say hackers linked to the Kremlin have tried repeatedly to break into government web sites. Votes are going to be tallied by hand to avoid possible tampering of voting machines, according to the Times. Now the Germans are also worried about what the Russians might try in their upcoming elections.
Norway also revealed last month that hackers linked to Russia had attacked government ministry sites and the emails of the Labour Party in an operation strikingly similar to what happened in the U.S.
Ayrault said it was obvious the Russians are targeting French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron, a staunch supporter of the European Union — though there is no hard evidence to prove it. Macron’s campaign website and emails have been hit by hackers over the past month, reports Agence France Presse. He has been the only candidate hit by cyberattacks. A fake news campaign linked to Russia has also been launched against him.
His rivals for the French presidency are Marine Le Pen of the extreme-right National Front and conservative Republican candidate Francois Fillon, who supports closer ties to the Kremlin.
In the U.S. campaign the CIA concluded that Russian distribution of fake news on the Internet and hacks of Democratic emails was an attempt to sway the U.S. election to Donald Trump
