Juri Ratas, Estonia's prime minister, poses for a photograph following an interview in Tallinn, Estonia, on Thursday, July 13, 2017. Ratas, whose ruling Center Party relies on support from Estonia’s ethnic Russian minority, has faced internal opposition over issues including increasing the presence of NATO troops and granting more rights to Russian speakers. Photographer: Peter Kollanyi/Bloomberg
Estonia, the only country in the world where voters elect their leaders through online balloting, is taking steps to fend off potential hacking attacks as cybersecurity fears intensify.
A software overhaul for the system, introduced in 2005, is ready for testing before local elections in October, according to Tarvi Martens, the National Electoral Committee’s head of e-voting. The upgrade includes anti-tampering features known as end-to-end verifiability that addresses security concerns from groups such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, he said.
