Nothing But Politics

[ThatHawaiiGuy]

Who do the hackers want to be governor?
Posted 10/06/2003 @ 11:03 PM, by Eric Bangeman


[Wouldn't it just be funny as h*ll if the hackers installed Gary Coleman?]


With the California gubernatorial recall election on tap for Tuesday, Wired has a piece on the electronic balloting system in place in some counties. Maryland officials had previously released a report stating that the touch screen machines to be used in Alameda county are "at high risk of compromise." Yet, in no small part due to the fiasco in Florida with hanging chads in the 2000 presidential elections, Alameda County, California is going full steam ahead with with their touch-screen voting machines. County officials are confident that they can secure the machines despite the myriad security risks, saying that proper training of election workers will mitigate against them. Wired paints a different picture:

However, information obtained by Wired News at a training session for Alameda County poll workers indicates that security lapses in the use of the equipment and poor worker training could expose the election to serious tampering. Voting-machine experts say the lapses could allow a poll worker or an outsider to change votes in machines without being detected. And because other problems inherent in the software won't be fixed before the recall, experts say sophisticated intruders can intercept and change vote tallies as officials transmit them electronically.

Beyond that there are a number of security risks involved in using these machines. The machines are left at the polling places for some time before the election, with memory cards loaded with ballots already installed. Poll supervisors are chosen with minimal regard to qualifications and without a background check. They then receive a key which will unlock all the voting machines at a single location. And the list goes on.

When most people think of compromising computerized polling systems, I'm sure the first thing that comes to mind is some nerdy guy sitting at his PC in his parents' basement haX0ring the Gibson. The truth is much simpler -- systems are much easier to compromise when you have physical access to the machines. On top of all of this, the voting machines also have some software issues that were not able to be corrected prior to the election. Between security, training, and software problems, Alameda County could very well make the Dade County, Florida voters look good tomorrow. [Today]

http://arstechnica.com/archive/news/1065499416.html