Pakistan Journal of Criminology Vol. 16, No. 03, July—September 2024 (31-44) Hacker Attacks on Electronic Election and Vote Counting Systems: Estimation of Damages and Methods of Protection Brunela Kullolli 1 Abstract The purpose of this study is to find the most effective and cost-efficient ways to improve the security and stability of electronic election and vote counting systems, as well as to identify the main targets of intruders and vulnerabilities of the system to prevent possible attacks. This paper describes the main types and of hacker attacks and their mechanism, assesses the consequences of damage to the structures of electronic elections in the United States, France, Germany, Northern Macedonia, and Indonesia. The vulnerabilities of electronic election systems were investigated and the technology for their detection during development and testing was provided. Recommendations were given on the implementation of preventive work to reduce the risks of hacker attacks. The study explained the motives of the crimes committed in the cyberspace of electronic election systems. Keywords: Cybersecurity; Cyber Defence; Computer Forensics; Remote Electronic Voting; Internet Voting Introduction At the local government elections in October 2005, Estonia introduced the possibility of electronic voting in the world. Then, 9,317 voters used the new method of participation in the elections. This amounted to about 2% of their total number, which at that time was a fairly high indicator (Madise & Martens, 2006). Over time, electronic voting began to be actively used in other states. However, such a system is not exceptionally reliable and has been subjected to repeated hacker attacks. The relevance of this study lies in the investigation of the electronic voting system, as well as its advantages and disadvantages. The originality of this paper lies in the search for new ways to solve the problem of cyberattacks on electronic voting systems. To estimate the degree of protection of the electronic election system, in 2019, participants of Def Con in Las Vegas, USA, a major annual conference of hackers, were invited to test their skills on voting machines to identify weaknesses that can be exploited by attackers. In a matter of minutes, the devices were hacked, and hackers turned them into game consoles (Derysh, 2019; Savchenko, 2022; Metelskyi & Kravchuk, 2023). 1 Doctor of Law, Department of Justice, Aleksander Moisiu University of Durres, Durres, Albania. kullollibrunela4@gmail.com