Data Privacy and Information Security specialist Desmond Israel has raised concerns about Ghana’s vulnerability to electoral interference, even with the use of offline voting in the upcoming election.
Speaking on Joy FM, Mr. Israel warned that despite Ghana’s manual processes for voting, counting, and collation, the election could still be influenced by cyber attackers through disinformation and manipulation.
“Cyber attackers can target political campaigns and exploit weaknesses in party infrastructure,” Mr. Israel explained, highlighting that these threats are especially significant for key figures like presidential candidates.
He further noted that attackers could breach candidates’ digital communications, such as emails and social media, to gather compromising information.
“There are two main aspects of election interference: information operations and cyber operations,” Mr. Israel stated, Information operations involve misinformation, fake news, and propaganda, while cyber operations include unauthorized access to infrastructure that supports the electoral process. Even if voting is offline, manipulating public opinion through social media misinformation can still interfere with the democratic process.”
Mr. Israel also discussed examples of electoral interference in other countries, citing a 2018 report by the International Peace Endowment where attackers gained access to the Democratic National Committee’s office in the U.S. during the 2016 election, retrieved sensitive emails, and used them to smear Hillary Clinton’s campaign, illustrating how such tactics can alter the outcome of an election.
His warnings he said emphasizes the importance of protecting both the technical and informational aspects of the electoral process to ensure the integrity of Ghana’s democracy.
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Source: Comfort Sweety Hayford/ATLFMNEWS
