Oct 24, 2008

E-Voting systems easily hacked

As a IT professional, I understand how to secure systems; that being said, I am completely flummoxed by the 'systems model' our local governments are using for something as important as voting. Especially when a good proven system exists.

That system, one that has has existed for decades is the ATM.
Think about it, when was the last time you actually stepped foot into your local bank, or had a problem with an ATM that resulted in you losing money?
ATM's are simple to use, ubiquitous, and very secure.
They provide secure authentication, plus a irrefutable methodology for securing and archiving records PRIOR to dispensing money from your account. This includes, a local printed receipt of your transaction , storing the result of your transaction in multiple locations thus ensuring that your transaction cannot be lost, destroyed or repudiated at a later date.

How do you provide a great security model? it is very simple, you use two or three of the following authentication methods. (Combined with the archiving method as detailed above)
1. Something you know (A password, or pass phrase)
2. Something you have ( Your ATM card or other unique device)
3 Something you are: (A Biometric such as a fingerprint or iris scan)

It is VERY hard to compromise any system using
So why did our government decide to reinvent the wheel, and buy systems that are less secure, and harder to use by design?
The only answers that makes sense is either the majority of our locally elected officials are dumb as stumps, or that they wanted systems that are easy to compromise, yet hard to use.
We all know the correct answer.
My point is when you vote on November 4th via electronics, keep very focused on what is going on around you and DO NOT under any circumstances vote a straight ticket for either party. One of the biggest "Bugs" in many current systems is flipping the presidential vote from one party to the other, when picking either "Democrat" or Republican" instead of voting directly for your candidate and party of choice. This is extremely important if you do not receive a receipt of your vote.
Go to this website: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/ , for information on the issues that may affect your locality.

REMEMBER, IT IS NOT YOUR VOTE THAT DETERMINES THE OUTCOME OF AN ELECTION, IT IS HOW THE VOTES ARE COUNTED

We can never duplicate the 2000 election. The consequences WOULD BE catastrophic to our Nation.

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