IEC computer system slows down, not hacked

KABUL (Pajhwok): Reports regarding the hacking of computers’ server of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) are untrue, but the system has slowed down and to fix the problem German experts will arrive in Kabul on Tuesday.

This happens when vote count in the September 28 presidential poll and the transfer of data from biometric devices to the central server has been underway.

Wrong Information:

Earlier a report in the Afghanistan Times quoted sources close to the Independent Election Commission (IEC) as saying that the server of its computer system was hacked and that the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) had called German technology experts to solve the problem.

The Afghanistan Times wrote that UN Secretary General Special Envoy in Kabul Tadamichi Yamamoto had asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to promptly issue visas to German experts so they could resolve the problem.

Indian hackers are blamed for the incident and according to reports, they hacked it to help a candidate, backed by Indian government, in the presidential election, according to the Afghanistan Times.

Weesa also reported citing a well-placed source at the IEC that a server from German Dermalog Company had stopped functioning. The biometric devices used in election were the product of this German company.

Correct Information:

IEC spokesman Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi rejected the report in the Afghanistan Times and said the IEC Computers server had not been hacked.

He, however, said the system had slowed down from the past two days and in order to resolve the problem, two representative of German Dermalog Company would arrive in Kabul today.

Also a well-placed source in the UNAMA delegation said that the server system of IEC computers had not been hacked and the Afghanistan Times report in this regard was baseless.

Pajhwok Afghan News in its new style of reporting investigates propaganda disseminated regarding election and after its investigation shows the people that published propaganda falls under which categories of the following:

Correct, half correct, wrong, half wrong.

After investigation, it emerged this story falls under incorrect category.

Zarghoona Salehi

Hits: 3936