Russia reports mass cyberattacks targeting elections

Russia’s electoral chief said Sunday (September 20, 2026) that there had been over 1,000 waves of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting Russian election infrastructure in recent days.

Ella Pamfilova, chair of Russia’s Central Election Commission, did not say who was responsible.

The attacks appeared to have been carried out by “highly professional, well-coordinated groups using artificial intelligence tools,” she said.

DDoS attacks involve overwhelming a system with internet traffic so that it is unable to function normally.

“Over the past period, more than 1,000 waves of DDoS attacks have been recorded against infrastructure in Russia that is specifically involved in the electoral process,” Ms. Pamfilova was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Voting is currently under way in Russia to determine all 450 seats in the lower house, the State Duma.

The ruling United Russia party, which backs President Vladimir Putin and has won every parliamentary election in Russia since 2003, is widely expected to secure another victory.

All other parties cleared to run back Mr. Putin and the Ukraine offensive, while Russia’s Supreme Court struck the anti-war Yabloko party off the ballot weeks before the vote.