With a quick monitor direct task on Could 10, the Ministry of Inner Affairs promoted modifications to the IT system, with the goal of defending private information, only one month earlier than the European elections
Nowadays, going by a pre-election interval, the Ministry of the Inside (YPES) is continuing with a transfer that may effectively be perceived, if nothing else, as an admission by its political management, below Minister Niki Kerameos and Deputy Minister Theodoris Livanios, that they’ll that there are gaps and “holes” concerning the safety of non-public information within the digital electoral utility for inside and exterior voters by postal vote. Documento brings to gentle the choice of the Ministry of the Inside on 10 Could 2024 (prot. no. 40177) to make modifications to the IT system supporting postal voting to protect private information.
The brand new interventions happen a month earlier than the European elections on June 9 and after the revelations in regards to the private information leakage scandal, the so-called email-gate – involving former ND MEP Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou–, and the current workplace break-in case head of the Directorate of Elections of the Ministry of the Inside.
On April 26, 2024, the Ministry of Overseas Affairs issued a name for expression of curiosity for the submission of a monetary supply concerning the supply of design undertaking providers for the replace and optimization of the prevailing information safety impression evaluation (DPIA) ready by the ministry’s providers for the IT system help for postal voting. On Could 10 (prot. no. 40177) the direct task was made, with the price amounting to 18,600 together with VAT.
As famous within the annex to the contract, the Ministry of Overseas Affairs is accountable for processing the functions of Greek residents who want to be registered within the particular electoral lists of postal votes for the European elections of June 2024 and has the duty to take and constantly observe the suitable crucial technical and organizational safety measures of the acquired info. At a minimal, safety measures include logging and monitoring entry, making certain traceability and defending information in transit from any breach, in addition to from intentional or unintentional threats.
All this doesn’t occur in a vacuum. In truth, the conclusion of the Authority for the Safety of Private Knowledge (APDPH) is awaited for the scandal of the leakage of the confidential private information of voters overseas.
The choice of the Ministry of the Inside on Could 10, 2024 concerning modifications to the IT system supporting postal voting to guard private information (01). The contract dated February 9, 2024 signed between YPES and SingularLogic for the supply of software program growth providers for the implementation of postal voting and the help of the electoral course of (02). A month later, the email-gate scandal broke out involving Anna-Michel Asimakopoulou. The 2020 digital utility activation contract between YPES – SingularLogic for the electoral course of concerning overseas voters (03) As documentonews.gr had revealed on April 29, the president of the authority, Konstantinos Menudakos, had requested new memoranda from these concerned and clarified that it’s going to not use the discovering of the Inner Audit Unit of the Ministry of the Inside. For the choice, the argument was put ahead that it’s an inside doc of the providers of the Ministry of Inner Affairs and the APDPH will difficulty its personal conclusion.
The tasks of presidency
After all, the necessary factor is that the management of the Ministry of the Inside sought to outline as vital for the leakage of information the interval of Could – June 2023, when there was official management as a result of election interval on the time. However no matter occurs when it comes to the time of the leak, the ministers of the ND authorities will not be with out duty. In truth, Kerameos’ research to unexpectedly defend the postal voting system reveals this deafeningly.
We recall some necessary contracts in a time collection that results in political concerns concerning the newest strikes by the management of the Ministry of Inner Affairs to strengthen the safety of non-public information. In 2020, shortly after the Mitsotakis authorities handed Legislation 4648/16.12.2019 on the vote of expatriates, a digital utility for the electoral course of concerning overseas voters is activated with contract 19/2020 between the Ministry of the Inside and SingularLogic.
Three years have handed since then. The Mitsotakis authorities handed a legislation on the postal vote of inside and exterior voters (legislation 5083/2024). On February 9, 2024, contract 2/2024 was signed between the Ministry of the Inside and SingularLogic for the supply of software program growth providers for the implementation of postal voting and the help of the electoral course of (contract worth of 1,612,000 euros). They collectively undertake to adjust to the obligations deriving from the EU and nationwide regulatory framework for the safety of non-public information. In the beginning of March 2024, the scandal of the leaking of expatriate emails (the Asimakopoulos case) breaks out.
Functions for postal voting began on February 15 and the deadline ended on April 29, 2024. Virtually every week later, on Could 10, the Ministry of Overseas Affairs brings the contract to find out whether or not the info safety measures of the IT help system for the postal vote have been complied with. vote and on the identical time investigates the opportunity of its enchancment in an effort to adjust to the technical and organizational safety measures of the acquired info.
As an opposition politician factors out to Documento, there are numerous variations: the Ministry of the Inside and the Ministry of Kyriakos Mitsotakis are both coming to cowl the gaps or the non-existence of information safety at a later date or they’re making an attempt to forestall the issuance of the conclusion of the APDPH. Evidently there are indications of deficiencies within the safety of non-public information, whether or not the leakage of the emails of overseas voters is linked to the implementation of the expatriates of the 19/2020 conference or to the implementation of the postal vote of the two/2024 conference.
Asymmetries in directories
A parameter linked to the opportunity of manipulation of the postal vote by the federal government camp has been put below the microscope of the get together staffs. The Ministry of the Inside and Maximou have of their possession a quantity of details about postal voters which they’ll use (or have already used), e.g. for focused political campaigns that “contact” voter profiles of the… mail. The hot button is the particular postal voter lists.
It’s evident that the data derived from this information for the 202,515 voters in query (home and overseas) offers a communicative arsenal for political campaigns within the run-up to the European elections. Nonetheless, on the identical time, electoral statisticians and IT specialists in opposition get together staffs take into account that the political events ought to be given the particular electoral lists for causes associated to transparency and the opportunity of stopping election tips with postal voting. As a specialist scientist with expertise within the electoral course of factors out in Documento, it may be seen from the particular checklist if there are ghost voters and even to analyze suspicions of… coordination of postal voting in sure areas.
Based on dependable info, opposition events are asking the officers of the Ministry of Inner Affairs to provide them the checklist of postal voters. In spite of everything, they’ve the appropriate to take action.
The particular electoral rolls in query include the next for every voter: serial quantity, particular electoral quantity, surname, first identify, mother and father’, partner’s and father’s surname (within the case of a married lady bearing the husband’s surname), date and time of beginning, fundamental electoral district the place he/she is registered (regional unit, municipality, electoral district), full handle of residence, full handle the place he needs to obtain the particular voting envelope, e mail handle and phone numbers.
Primarily based on Article 7 of Legislation 5083/2024, political events can obtain copies of the particular electoral rolls however three gadgets of postal voter voters might not be included: the handle of receipt of the particular voting envelope, their e mail and phone numbers .
Just a few days in the past there have been leaks and reviews about elevated curiosity in voting by mail from voters in areas with Roma populations, equivalent to Boeotia (Piri, Orchomenos), II Thessaloniki (Menemeni) and even municipal models of II Western Attica (Zefyri, Aspropyrgos, and so forth.). One thing like this has not been crossed, however get together officers look like on electoral alert to determine… asymmetries.
After all, the principle difficulty that everybody is specializing in is that the ND authorities, in addition to the SYRIZA authorities, didn’t clear the electoral rolls of lifeless individuals. The Mitsotakis authorities rushed to advertise postal voting and construct digital platforms for its implementation, however legislated November 1, 2024 because the deadline for the purge, already establishing the situations for the deletion of voters.
As Documento has identified in a report on February 4, 2024, already in 2019 and with higher emphasis in Could 2023 the Group for Safety and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Workplace for Democratic Establishments and Human Rights (ODIHR) in a report they put them as an issue, amongst different issues, that they haven’t been deleted deceased. The priority is heightened as a result of digital electoral “cosmogony” of a number of platforms mixed with postal voting.
Worry of parasong
An issue that they’d not calculated appeared primarily in Aegean islands and is said to voters who, as employees primarily in vacationer professions (seasonal), selected to vote by mail. As defined in Documento by officers of the Ministry of the Inside, they obtain phone complaints from voters who haven’t but arrived on the islands the place they’ve declared an handle for receiving the election supplies, as a result of they begin work a bit later. The 2 courier corporations which have taken over the distribution of the voting materials notify them and inform them that they can not hold it for greater than two days, one and 7, and that they are going to return it to the electoral base – in Peristeri, the place for amassing postal votes. The Ministry of Inner Affairs has already been consulted on the matter that arose so {that a} resolution will be discovered.
Nonetheless, based on the provisions for voters throughout the territory, the envelope will be despatched from his place by calling a postal firm worker till June 3 and June 4 if the supply is made by the voter to a retailer of the corporate. Accordingly, if the elector is overseas, the envelope have to be despatched by Could 28, 2024.
As a way to be counted, the postal votes should attain Peristeri by June 8, 17.00 Greek time.
Home voters who train their proper to vote by postal vote are excluded from voting in particular person at a polling station. For that reason, within the electoral roll they’re registered in, of their essential municipality or within the particular hetero-municipality, there will likely be a particular marking “T” (by put up) in order that the judicial consultant won’t permit them to vote.
However the employees of the Ministry of the Inside are significantly fearful about getting concerned within the occasion that some resolve to attend the polling station in particular person. From the postal vote assortment space, they are going to inform electronically in regards to the voters who didn’t vote by put up and every municipality will put together an inventory of names per electoral division with the voters in query. An worker of the municipality will ship it to the judicial consultant of the electoral division. The query is whether or not everybody will make it in time for the elector (no extra “T”) to vote after 11 am on Sunday, June 9.
Learn additionally: The… abstention from inside postal voting
European elections 2024: Near 200,000 postal voters – The registration platform closes at midnight
Issues and reductions in postal voting
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