Several websites were the target of a low-level ‘hacktivist’ cyber attack overnight. 

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) were made aware of a “series of low impact Distributed Denial of Service or ‘DDoS’ attacks” last night ahead of counting for local and European elections.

A DDoS involves attempting to overwhelm a website with traffic by refreshing it constantly until it crashes. 

According to the NCSC, these attacks are typically low-cost and low-impact, aimed at attracting attention rather than causing significant harm. 

It said the impact of this activity has been “minimal”. 

The Journal reported Voter.ie, the national website where people can register to vote, was among the targeted websites. 

The NCSC said this ‘hactivist group’ is part of a pattern of events across the EU and “is in line with the experiences of other EU Member States”. 

The NCSC has been working with the websites involved to provide technical advice and guidance and to coordinate the response process. 

Preparing for cyber attack

Last month, the NCSC, in collaboration with South Korean officials, led a major international cyber defence training exercise. 

The teams involved took on the role of national cyber rapid reaction operatives assisting a fictional country under attack from another fictional country. 

Along with security IT systems, participants had to solve forensic, legal, media and information warfare challenges. 

NCSC Director Richard Browne said in March that the organisation was hyper-vigilant for any threats to democracy in the run-up to referendums and elections this year. 

"We work with the Electoral Commission, Coimisiún na Meán, Gardaí and the Defence Forces to ensure we are hyper-vigilant around any threats to the integrity of the political and democratic process,” he said. 

Last week, a Russian, pro-Putin hacker group claimed responsibility for what seems to be a coordinated attack on the websites of Dutch political parties and EU institutions on the first day of the European elections.