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More Diebold E-Voting Vulnerabilities
presmike writes "ok, it looks like Diebold has more to worry about now that it is possible to change votes with a 5 line VB script. 'The vulnerabilities involve the Global Election Management System, or GEMS, software that runs on a county's server and tallies votes after they come in from Diebold touch-screen and optical-scan machines in polling places.'"
You'd think a company who's been making ATMs since their inception, would have a good understanding of cryptographic security and the "gotchas" inherent in such systems. Yet it seems that this multi-billion dollar company is utilizing nothing more than junior level Microsoft programmers. I mean, who in their right mind would write a national voting system in Microsoft Access?!?
;-) Then they could get Congress to sanction Google instead! *rolls eyes*
Maybe they should claim that all their security experts were hired by Google after they took the GLAT.
(BTW, I love the "Politics" section color scheme. Can we do something similar for IT?)
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
If someone compromises their network and server enough to install and run a script, they've got considerably more at their fingertips.
When you have the CEO of Diebold saying "I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President next year." why do you think the evilness has to come from outside Diebold?
Trolling is a art,
it looks like Diebold has more to worry about
You mean, it looks like the American people (and the rest of the world) have more to worry about. Diebold has been incredibly resistant to being damaged, no matter how many problems arise with their software.
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
IOW, you don't know shit about them and you still think they are safe.
We are fscking doomed!
Windows security is hard enough to get right when you try. But it sounds like the Diebold flaws would be present regardless of their platform choice.
Even running the GEMS software on OpenBSD would do nothing to make up for their lousy secuity design.
"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." -- Lord Acton
I don't want my tax dollars bankrolling OSS dev efforts. If you wan't such a system, go ahead and create it. Put a paypal link on your sourceforge page, maybe someone will send you a buck.
Do you want to pay for buggy, easily exploitable software then? I can understand your desire not to waste money on "fantasy vapor product that doesn't exist..", but you are paying for Diebold's mess. And you are paying for paper voting, recounts, and all the supporting infrastructure. Personally, since money is being spent regardless, I'd like to see it go towards a rock solid solution that will last awhile. It seems that OSS would be an excellent candidate.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
I call bullshit!
I'm sure the Diebold people do understand security, very well. Security is their main business. Clearly, the absense of security in the voting systems is not a result of accident, oversight, or incompetence. I am sure the absense of security is absolutely intentional.
These machines are designed, from the start, to rig elections.
Here is the only way I see this comming to full public attention. Some haxor changes the votes, not for Dem or Rep (that would be argued as America opinion), so that the green party or the american communist party or something like that won in a landslide then you'd open peoples eyes real quick.
/. life I will be posting Anonymously, soon I'll be buying my tinfoil hat...)
It's kinda ironic that all of us nerds who love technology are the ones saying that this is a really bad idea. If we're saying this technology is bad you'd think they would listen to us....
NOTE to FBI, election officials and readers: This is not a suggestion on things to do. I am not saying that someone needs to hack the voting system, I'm just saying that if the worste case scenerio occurs people would notice. I don't want someone doing this and me ending up in Gitmo.
(For the first time in my