Home Of Ghana News Ghana News, Entertainment And More
A Data Privacy and Information Security specialist, Desmond Israel, has warned that the country remains vulnerable to cyber-attacks and electoral interference.
According to Mr Israel, attackers may not target the voting, counting, or collation processes—since they are fully manual—but instead exploit digital avenues such as political campaigns, communications, and social media manipulation.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, Israel explained that while Ghana’s elections are safeguarded from direct digital tampering, cyber attackers could still influence the outcome through disinformation and psychological manipulation.
By hacking into the digital communication systems of political candidates or employing deceptive tactics online, attackers could mislead the public and undermine electoral integrity.
He cited examples from the 2016 U.S. election, where troll factories created fake accounts and bots to inflate a candidate’s perceived popularity on social media. These tactics gave a false sense of grassroots support and influenced public opinion.
“An attacker can set up a troll factory, making it appear as though a candidate has a strong grassroots base on social media, when in reality, it’s the opposite. This false popularity can create an illusion of growth and support, which can be misleading and ultimately detrimental,” Israel explained.
Israel further emphasized that the manipulation doesn’t stop with fake popularity. Attackers could also deploy misinformation and disinformation campaigns to destabilize a candidate just before the election.
“Once they’ve built up that false hope, they could release damaging information—gathered through hacking or other cyber espionage—causing public outrage,” he warned.
Related Story: ECOWAS refutes claims it predicted violence in Ghana’s 2024 elections – Home Of Ghana News (ghanaweb.mobi)
The combination of fake support and sudden negative revelations could cripple a candidate’s chances.
He cautioned that these cyber tactics could lead to unexpected losses, even for the most popular candidates.
“You might be the leading candidate, but in the final week, this manipulation could seriously affect your chances and the overall election outcome. This is a form of election interference,” Israel stated.
As Ghana heads towards its 2024 general election, the expert urged political parties and candidates to be vigilant and take necessary steps to secure their digital communications and online presence against potential threats.
Click to watch videos
Source: tigpost
