by Nisha Paul

As Grenada heads into another general election, cybersecurity officials are urging voters to think twice before clicking, sharing or acting on election-related information circulating online.

Coordinator of the National Cybersecurity Incident Response Team (CSIRT) Jervis Dabreo said the increase in political activity creates more opportunities for deceptive content to spread, including fake pages, misleading links and manipulated or deepfake material.

Dabreo said voters should not assume that information is legitimate simply because it appears official or is widely circulated. He urges users to verify the source before engaging with election-related content. “Before you engage with it…at least check the veracity of it, the truthfulness, the correctness of it because in some cases you may be getting very close to breaking laws, and we do not want that,” Dabreo cautioned.

The warning comes amid concerns surrounding a website that published information intended to help voters locate polling stations and access other election-related information. The Parliamentary Elections Office (PEO) subsequently distanced itself from the website, stating that it was “not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by the office.”

Dabreo said the website was examined by cybersecurity personnel and “the investigation did not establish that it was malicious or designed to steal users’ credentials.” However, he said the episode demonstrates why voters should establish where election information is coming from before relying on it.

According to Dabreo, some of the information published on the website was publicly available. The concern, he explained, was also about how that information was presented and whether users could reasonably interpret it as having official backing. He called on political organisations to “exercise caution when distributing information to their supporters.” He said those sharing election-related material have a “responsibility to ensure that the information is accurate” and does not cross legal boundaries.

With political parties stepping up their campaigns, Dabreo expects the volume of election-related content online to increase. That could make it more difficult for voters to distinguish between official information, political messaging, misleading content and material deliberately designed to deceive.

The advice from CSIRT is straightforward: check the source before clicking, verify information before sharing it, and avoid entering personal details on unfamiliar websites or through suspicious links.

Dabreo said voters should turn to the relevant authorities when they are uncertain about whether election information is genuine.

As Grenada enters a heightened political period, cybersecurity officials say online vigilance will be an increasingly important part of protecting voters from deception and misinformation.