The tension between Ukraine and Russia also spread to Eurovision 2022. Ukraine won the song competition with huge support from public votes. Russia was banned from the competition following the invasion. The Italian police, where the contest was staged, announced that hacker groups targeted the contest’s first semi-final and the grand final on Saturday.
Irregular voting patterns
Italian police stated that their cybersecurity division blocked the incoming attacks. The police said,
« Various computer attacks of a DDoS nature aimed at network infrastructures during voting operations and singing performances were mitigated. »
Eurovision organizers also stated that they have noticed irregular voting patterns in six countries, including Azerbaijan, Romania, and Georgia. Scores from those countries were replaced with a substitute aggregated result. The organizers stated,
« In the analysis of jury voting by the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) pan-European voting partner after the Second Dress Rehearsal of the Second Semi-Final of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, certain irregular voting patterns were identified in the results of six countries. »