The risks of threats, sabotage and disinformation aimed at elections have increased in Sweden since 2018, according to the Swedish Security Service. Ahead of this year's elections, Russia is particularly mentioned as a foreign power with an interest in influencing, for example, to create division in NATO and reduce support for Ukraine.
Anna Nyqvist, head of the Swedish Election Authority, says that the so-called antagonistic threats are one of three groups of threats they work with when it comes to election security.
In addition, there are accidents and natural events, as well as so-called organizational threats, such as human error or lack of resources.
“A lot can happen”
Although natural events do not usually affect Swedish elections, there are preparations in place in case, for example, forest fires continue into September.
There can also be power outages for more natural reasons than antagonistic ones. There are many things that can happen, those are the things we plan for.
Ahead of the election, the authority is also putting a lot of effort into training county administrative boards and municipalities, which handle voting and vote counting.
They also provide advice on how municipalities should think about recruiting vote recipients and vote counters, for example, that you should not handle votes if you yourself are on a list.
On election day, September 13, denial-of-service attacks on the agency's website are a scenario that is being prepared for. This happened both in 2018 and 2022. The work within the so-called cyber working group is led by the National Cyber Security Center, which is part of the FRA.
We know that we have cyberattacks almost every election, says Anna Nyqvist.
High trust
There is also the spread of misinformation. This can involve inaccuracies about when polling stations close or lies being spread about things that happened at a polling station.
It can also be information that is fundamentally correct, but which today is widely disseminated and appears to be larger than it is.
However, Swedes' trust in the electoral system is high, which reduces the risk of rumors and false information taking hold. This is in stark contrast to the United States, for example, where President Donald Trump's lies that the 2020 election was "stolen" have contributed to widespread distrust.
We are quite far from the situation in the US. In general, we see that we are well vaccinated, because there is a high level of trust. At the same time, that is why all countries are working much more now with election security and quality development.
Influence from foreign powers or attempts to prevent or deter voters from voting are examples of threats to the implementation of elections. It can also involve threatening those working with elections, knocking out IT systems or spreading false information about when, how and where to vote.
The purpose of such threats is often to discourage voting, disrupt or sabotage the conduct of elections, or reduce confidence in the conduct of elections or the results of elections.
An election can also be affected by other events. For example, there may be shortcomings in procedures and training of those working with elections or unexpected events such as natural disasters and accidents.
Source: Election Authority
