site.btaInformation Services Refutes Fake Signal about Allegedly Leaked Code on Election Day

In connection with the information circulated in some media outlets on Sunday about an allegedly leaked correspondence between the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of e-Government, Mihail Stoynov, and the Executive Director of Information Services, Ivaylo Filipov, Information Services stated in a position received by BTA that no such email exists and what was published by the media is fake.

Some media outlets, including Trud, received the e-mail, which is allegedly addressed to Filipov by Deputy Minister Stoynov and reads:

Hi, 

As we talked, I reviewed the things and took out the following which you can use in the preparations for the weekend. Tell me when you’re ready, so I can put into motion the remaining part, because we don’t have much time.

The e-mail is followed by an excerpt of a code. 

In the analysis of the source code used by the company's experts, which was published on Sunday in some media, it was found that it is a fragment of a software code published in 2014 in a publication by the Bovol.bg website for verification and calculation of the results of the parliamentary elections of 2013 and 2014 according to the methodology described in the Election Code. 

The software code itself, the subject of today's publications, and claiming to be part of Communication in 2023, can be found again with authors cited and on the platform where open source systems are published for free use (https://github.com/bivol/BGElections) with a last update date of 2017. 

"Beyond this clear factual evidence, which categorically proves that the mentioned alert to the media is an attempt to manipulate public opinion on election day by instilling tension and doubt in the electoral process, we are obliged to underline that Information Services has been processing the results of various elections in Bulgaria for over 20 years, guided by absolute professionalism and principles, aware of the company's great responsibility as part of the process of conducting fair and democratic elections," Information Services said, adding that they will not allow to be drawn into attempts to discredit the elections.

Information Services says on its website that it has for over 20 years been a key partner of the state institutions in the implementation of ICT projects with the Ministry of Finance, the National Revenue Agency, the Customs Agency, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, the municipal administrations, courts, etc. The company is the first governmentally approved provider of qualified certification services in Bulgaria.