Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Are Cyber Operations Having An Impact On State Electoral Processes?, Sean Joseph Mcnicholas

Dissertations and Theses

Cyber-attacks have become common occurrences which have an impact on all aspects of life ranging from business transactions to personal communications. Alarmingly, coordinated cyber-attacks are increasingly targeting politicians and their associates, political campaigns, political organizations and the broader public with political messaging. Given the novelty of these new forms of attacks, little is known of their potential impact. This thesis argues that states, state-directed actors, or non-state actors are disrupting, altering or influencing the electoral process in democratic states through coordinated cyber operations. It further argues that the purpose is to increase hyper-partisanship and erode the legitimacy of democratically-elected leaders. …