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Maryland Electronic Voting Systems Found Vulnerable

Posted by michael on from the stuffing-the-ballot-box dept.

snoitpo writes "My fine state (Maryland) has hired some people I can respect to hack into Diebold voting machines. The Washington Post (read it free for 2 weeks) has the details. From this story and the one on NPR, the state hired a company and set up a test voting precinct and had the group try whatever they could to break into the machines. Most of the attacks would probably be noticed by an even-half-awake poll staff, but some vulnerabilities were exposed. The net seems to be that you could really mess up individual machines, but the grail would be to get to the central collection servers and send a megavote to your favorite candidate. The last paragraph mentions problems that voting machines had in the last election in Virginia; it's interesting to note that those use wireless networking--my jaw has dropped onto my keyboard and I can't comment any further." Other readers sent in two stories in the Baltimore Sun (1, 2), and one in the NY Times.

10 of 417 comments (clear)

  1. Wireless connections? by Dr+Caleb · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd like to take this opportunity to coin the phrase "War Voting". :)

    --
    "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Mark Twain
    1. Re:Wireless connections? by thelasttemptation · · Score: 5, Funny

      You voted for bush too eh?

  2. can we demand by WormholeFiend · · Score: 1, Funny

    can we demand a vote recount BEFORE the election then?

  3. So what? by thinkpol · · Score: 5, Funny

    What's going to happen? We'll elect someone who didn't get the most legitimate votes...?

    wait..

  4. No overloading terms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sorry, it's taken. "War voting" already means casting a vote for W.

  5. Pine cones. by bad+enema · · Score: 3, Funny

    "If you want to vote for Candidate A, you throw a pine cone in this box. If you want to vote for Candidate B you throw a birch branch in this box. After a while though, the boxes get pretty heavy and weigh a couple of kilometers."

  6. Re:Maybe that's what we need... by Tsiangkun · · Score: 2, Funny

    Remember to use a Mac when you hack the machines . . . it's the latest tip from the FBI. --Tsiangkun

  7. Re:Need paper receipts by cens0r · · Score: 2, Funny

    they never said you got to keep the reciept. A good system would have you put it in the lock box.

    --
    Jack Valenti and Orrin Hatch will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
  8. Re:Perhaps you all should read our report. by VX1984rr3 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think you misunderstand. This is Slashdot. Facts are not necessary nor generally desired.

  9. Re:How to Steal an Election by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Nonsense! Sally was just recognizing the intent of the voter. Grandma obviously didn't mean to vote for Gore. Her eyes aren't that good, and Bush's name was right next to his. Sally did the right thing losing a wrong ballot. And Aunt Tille would certainly want a Republican Congressman looking out for her. There's nothing wrong with Sally checking a few boxes for her. She was just being helpful!