France accuses Israeli firm of interfering in Scottish elections and targeting SNP

Cyber agency says BlackCore targeted John Swinney, as well as interfering in France, New York and elsewhere

France’s cyber-security agency has accused an Israeli firm called BlackCore of interfering in the Scottish elections earlier this year by targeting the first minister, John Swinney.

The disinformation detection agency Viginum said BlackCore had used proxy social media accounts to target Swinney, the Scottish National party and the Scottish government on four occasions this year.

Viginum said BlackCore had focused its operations on municipal elections in France but had also targeted the mayoral elections in New York, won by Zohran Mamdani, and other countries such as Togo and Angola.

Speaking alongside the French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, at a press conference on Thursday, Viginum’s chief de service, Marc-Antoine Brillant, said its investigations had identified BlackCore as the culprit but that it was still unclear who had commissioned the company to do so.

“This modus operandi was not limited to municipal elections in France,” he said. “It also appears to have ⁠been used to carry out foreign digital interference operations in other countries or regions, such as Angola, Togo, the elections in Scotland , and the 2025 municipal election in New York.”

Brillant added: “Our investigations did not make it possible to identify the sponsor or sponsors, if indeed they exist, behind this foreign digital interference.”

The Viginum report alleges that Swinney, the SNP and the devolved government in Edinburgh were targeted by a “specific campaign” between 6 January and 8 May this year, before and during a hard-fought election for the Scottish parliament.