Lawyer: switching to e-voting in Latvia would risk voter data security
Lawyer Kalvis Vītoliņš says it is fortunate that Latvia has not adopted electronic voting like Estonia, since a cyberattack could expose sensitive voter data. His comments follow a string of data security incidents at Latvian state institutions.
Speaking on TV24's programme "Preses klubs," lawyer and founder of the Latvian Logistics Association Kalvis Vītoliņš said it is beneficial that Latvia has not yet moved to electronic voting, unlike Estonia, which has used the system for years. He argued that a digital voting system carries an additional risk: in the event of a cyberattack, the voting data itself could be compromised.
Vītoliņš noted that recent incidents involving data at various Latvian institutions give serious reason to question how safely sensitive information is stored in electronic systems. In his view, a leak of electronic voting data could have far more serious consequences than a leak involving information about a person's car or place of residence, since it would reveal who voted for whom. He stressed that such information could feel especially sensitive to the public — possibly even more troubling than data about someone's vehicle or address.
Several incidents in recent months
Vītoliņš's remarks come as data security at Latvian state and public institutions has repeatedly come under scrutiny in recent months. In June, the state forestry company "Latvijas valsts meži" reported a cybersecurity incident that may have allowed unauthorized third-party access to data belonging to clients and partners, including names, personal identity numbers and contact information.
In August, a cyberattack hit the system of the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD), affecting data on roughly 1.2 million individuals and up to 200,000 legal entities, including information on CSDD payments. The State Data Inspectorate has launched an investigation into the incident.
On 3 September, the Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) also reported a possible security incident, in which contact information — names and email addresses and phone numbers — of 697 business representatives and 34 PTAC officials was extracted from one of its systems. The agency says that oversight data submitted by businesses was not compromised in the incident.
