Cyberattacks against elections security go beyond mere concepts of cybersecurity threats or cybercrime offences, but rather represent direct attacks on democracy and threaten security and stability of the states in ways that are difficult to anticipate.

Specifically, in case of the upcoming Georgian Parliamentary elections in October 2020, there is an established pattern of similar attacks in different states and contexts, including most recent examples of United Kingdom and North Macedonia. Given the history of large-scale cyber-attacks against Georgian state and society in 2008, this calls for specific caution and preparation against such threats.

In this context, within the joint European Union – Council of Europe CyberEast project a technical webinar on preparation for elections security was organised, with the participation of the EU DG NEAR and the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, international experts on cybersecurity, international experts on cybercrime, 13 representatives of 7 related national institutions in Georgia, as well as C-PROC staff.

The purpose of this one-day webinar for the Georgian authorities was to bring together all relevant national stakeholders and focus on awareness raising, inter-institutional coordination, information sharing, best practices, previous experiences, and lessons learnt in terms ensuring cyber-security of elections.