{"id":2202462,"date":"2023-10-11T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T23:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2202462"},"modified":"2023-10-10T15:40:14","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T06:40:14","slug":"as-general-elections-loom-south-korea-grapples-with-election-security-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/as-general-elections-loom-south-korea-grapples-with-election-security-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"As general elections loom, South Korea grapples with election security concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korea\u2019s National Intelligence Service (NIS) concluded an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nis.go.kr:4016\/resources\/synap\/skin\/doc.html?fn=NIS_FILE_1696904609889\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in-depth assessment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the country\u2019s election system on Tuesday, highlighting several security vulnerabilities within the infrastructure managed by the National Election Commission (NEC) \u2014 the state-run election watchdog. The analysis, which came a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/AEN20231009003500315\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">day ahead<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of a major Seoul ward by-election, reveals that multiple facets of the election system were exposed to potential breaches. These vulnerabilities range from unauthorized access mechanisms for pre-vote documents and the potential for the duplication of ballot papers to imperfections in the online voting authentication system that may not reliably counter proxy voting, coupled with penetrable communication setups at preliminary voting locations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Systemic issues were a prominent part of the report\u2019s findings. The NEC\u2019s practice of employing relatively straightforward passwords emerged as a concern, potentially allowing easier unauthorized access to vital platforms. The NIS\u2019s examination indicated that there was a lack of robust encryption for key information. Certain data, such as overseas voter databases, were found stored without encryption. This approach leaves the door open for potential internal server intrusions and also poses a risk concerning data integrity and privacy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NIS documented instances where the NEC, over the past two years, seemed unaware of cyber-intrusion attempts, some traced back to North Korean origins and displayed delayed or insufficient response measures. Further, repeated instances of email breaches targeted at the same personnel within the commission were observed. A specific episode around April 2021 highlighted a system breach, with one of the NEC\u2019s computers compromised by malware, allegedly linked to North Korea\u2019s \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/2023\/06\/north-korean-hackers-target-some-150-experts-in-phishing-campaign-rok-police\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kimsuky<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d group, resulting in the potential exposure of sensitive documents and stored data.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Why It Matters<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NIS\u2019 recent disclosure pinpointing weaknesses in South Korea\u2019s election management systems could not have come at a more critical juncture. With the upcoming <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nec.go.kr\/site\/nec\/ex\/bbs\/View.do?cbIdx=1104&amp;bcIdx=192949\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">parliamentary elections<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> scheduled for April 10, 2024, the report cast a spotlight on the potential vulnerabilities within the electoral infrastructure. The significance of these findings is further amplified by the latest <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gallup.co.kr\/gallupdb\/reportContent.asp?seqNo=1419\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gallup Korea poll<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> results, which indicate a tight race between the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party, both garnering an approval rating of 33%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In March 2022, the NEC <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/AEN20220306000952325\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">apologized<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for issues during early voting for the presidential election, especially concerning COVID-19 patients, but refuted claims of electoral misconduct amid a closely contested race between then-candidates Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung. With the impending parliamentary elections, there\u2019s a possibility that political candidates and voters might reference the recently uncovered cybersecurity vulnerabilities as grounds to question electoral integrity, particularly if the outcomes are close or unexpected. The intelligence findings could also lead to an erosion of public trust, affecting participation rates in the forthcoming elections.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-tags\"><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/defense-security\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Defense &amp; Security<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/domestic-politics\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/technology-cyber\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Technology &amp; Cyber<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korea\u2019s National Intelligence Service (NIS) concluded an in-depth assessment of the country\u2019s election system on Tuesday, highlighting several security vulnerabilities within the infrastructure managed by the National Election Commission (NEC) \u2014 the state-run election watchdog. The analysis, which came a day ahead of a major Seoul ward by-election, reveals that multiple facets of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2202463,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[26,27,29],"class_list":["post-2202462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefings","tag-defense-security","tag-domestic-politics","tag-technology-cyber"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>As general elections loom, South Korea grapples with election security concerns - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/as-general-elections-loom-south-korea-grapples-with-election-security-concerns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As general elections loom, South Korea grapples with election security concerns - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korea\u2019s National Intelligence Service (NIS) concluded an in-depth assessment of the country\u2019s election system on Tuesday, highlighting several security vulnerabilities within the infrastructure managed by the National Election Commission (NEC) \u2014 the state-run election watchdog. 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