Dutch Voting Aid Website Target Of DDoS Attack

The Dutch voting aid website Kieskompas appeared to be the victim of a DDoS attack yesterday as hackers attempted to take the website offline. The Stemwijzer website was also experiencing problems due to DDOS attacks. Meanwhile, tweets with the hashtag #Naziholland were spread by hundreds of Twitter accounts on Wednesday, including those of the European parliament and singer Caro Emerald. Stephen Gates, Chief Research Intelligence Analyst at NSFOCUS IB commented below.

Stephen Gates, Chief Research Intelligence Analyst at NSFOCUS IB:

“From notoriety, extortion, and protest to business advantage and nation-state hacking, it appears a new motivation for DDoS attacks has surfaced.  Using DDoS as a political weapon to attack sites aimed to provide voter information appears to be on the rise, and will likely increase on a global scale.  Organisations that maintain these information outlets must protect themselves from DDoS attacks, or revert to “old-school” leaflets, paper adverts, and mailers.  Blocking the dissemination of voter information can be an effective political weapon.  Without a complete picture of the candidates, referendums, and issues, voters tend to “not” vote at all, or mark their ballots with their eyes closed.”