Election committee: ‘No suspicion whatsoever’ of cyber attack behind glitch

The Central Elections Committee does not believe that a cyber attack is responsible for a glitch on its website responsible for showing incorrect results from Tuesday’s election.

“We are not looking at that option at all,” committee spokesperson Giora Pordes tells The Times of Israel. “It has nothing to do with that. There is no suspicion whatsoever of a hack or anything like that.”

Instead, Pordes explains, the problems on the website are caused by a “technical error in the website programming” that he says will be fixed in the coming hours.

The website has not been updated for hours and shows the New Right party clearing the electoral threshold, even as officials indicated the party fell short. Other snafus include turnout rates of over 100 percent in some areas.

The glitch “only effects the results seen online,” he stresses, explaining that the actual results are recorded on a “separate and secure” system.

In January, the director of the Shin Bet security agency told a closed audience that a world power was planning to disrupt the April 9 vote via a cyber attack. Soon after, news erupted that Iran had hacked the cellphone of Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.

— Raoul Wootliff