Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - NEC says website hacked

NEC says website hacked

NEC members meet to discuss the draft regulations and procedures for the upcoming commune council elections in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photo supplied
NEC members meet to discuss the draft regulations and procedures for the upcoming commune council elections in Phnom Penh yesterday. Photo supplied

NEC says website hacked

The website for the new national voter list that was created by re-registering some 8 million people late last year was recently hacked by foreigners, but no data was tampered with, National Election Committee spokesman Hang Puthea said yesterday.

The NEC is presently finalising the list for the June 4 commune elections, and those who registered to vote between September and November have been asked to visit the voterlist.org.kh website to check that their details are correct and to submit any corrections.

However, Puthea told reporters at a restaurant in Phnom Penh that the website’s security had been compromised on Wednesday. He said hackers from outside Cambodia had taken the site offline, but that it was quickly live again.

“We had two obstacles. It was too slow, so the NEC has decided to pay more money to the company to give more speed. Then the speed was OK, but we saw signs of hacking,” Puthea said. “When we opened it, there were about 1 million people [accessing the website], so the website got stuck.”

“We carefully kept the original copies [of the voter list]. The hack was from outsiders and only bothered people searching their names,” the spokesman explained. “We are now working with Japanese experts to prevent and solve any further problems.”

Koul Panha, head of elections monitor Comfrel, said he was satisfied that the new voter list had not been tampered with by those who attacked the website.

“It was only difficult for people who wanted to verify their names online,” Panha said, noting that the NEC’s website had also been hacked before the 2013 election. “We’ve had this problem before.”

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Tina rebuffs ‘false claims’ over falling paddy price

    Agriculture minister Dith Tina has shed light on the trade of paddy rice in Battambang – Cambodia’s leading rice-producing province – in a bid to curb what he dubs a “social media fact distortion campaign” to destabilise the market. While acknowledging that the prices of paddy

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm