YEKATERINBURG, December 4 (Itar-Tass) —— The website of the Sverdlovsk regional election committee was blocked over a mass DOS attack on Sunday. The websites of the election committee in several other Russian regions came under the similar DOS attack, chairman of the regional election committee Vladimir Mostovshchikov told a press briefing on Sunday.
“Those who masterminded this attack have major financial resources. For what it was done? The information about the elections is posted on the website of the election committee each two hours. People are keeping in touch with the current events at the elections. But if the election committee stops to post the information at its website, people begin to suspect something bad. Therefore, this attack was masterminded with the single goal to discredit the work of the regional election committee and seed panics among voters. However, the offenders failed to obtain this. The voters received the necessary information on the hotline and sms messages,” Mostovshchikov elaborated.
If the website is not restored before the election preliminary results are made public the information will be posted on the website of the presidential representative in the Ural Federal District or the regional government.
“In general the situation in the Sverdlovsk Region is quite calm as compared with other Russian region. Some 21 complaints were filed to us. Some 16 complaints were considered, five complaints are being checked. I would like to note that all violations are minor and standard, there is nothing but the PR campaign of a concrete party is behind them,” Mostovshchikov said, noting that the regional election committee is checking the facts, when the voters were brought in the organized way to the polling stations and the bribery of voters.
The turnout has reached 32% at 3 p.m. Moscow time in the Sverdlovsk Region.