CEC spokesperson on the alleged database leakage
By Anastasia Sokhadze
Tuesday, March 31
Ana Mikeladze, Central Election Commission Spokesperson, stated about the leakage of data. The voters’ personal information, such as full names, home addresses, dates of birth, ID numbers, and mobile phone numbers were shared online in a 1.04 GB MDB (Microsoft Access database) file.
Mikeladze noted that the CEC portal and structure are entirely different from what was published, and that the data does not match the number of voters and other requisites.
“In addition, the format of the spread information is different from the original database. For instance, information about 4.9 million users was mentioned when in reality, we’ve obtained data of only 3.5 million people.”
She also stated that the information must have been taken from a completely different database.
The data protection monitoring group Under the Breach, which is investigating cybercrime, also chimed in and released information about the leakage of Georgia's voter list data online.
According to the group, ZDNet says that the data of 4.9 million people was released last Saturday. The database contains 4,934,863 records but has not been updated as the dead are still included.
Georgia has 3.7 million citizens, of which, more than a third are underage and not eligible to vote. It’s the first red flag regarding the generosity of the leaked information.
It is currently unclear if the hacker took the information from a reliable database, CEC or not, as they may have not attached much importance to the genuineness of the data.
Georgia's Interior Ministry says that the information, which was reported in the foreign press, is known to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A detailed study is underway and further clarifications will be made soon.
