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The Diebold Voting-Machine Hack

Warm John writes to mention a short article on Doctor Dobbs Journal about the Hack that couldn't be done. "Hacking a Diebold voting machine was the focus of Cigital's Gary McGraw's keynote at SD Best Practices. He discussed 'Security Analysis of the Diebold AccuVote-TS Voting Machine,' a paper released by Edward Felten, Ari Feldman, and Alex Halderman of the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy. 'The paper details a simple method whereby the Princeton team was able to compromise the physical security of a Diebold voting machine, infecting it with a virus that could change voting results and spread by memory-card to other machines of the same type.'"

16 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. firmware flash by thedrunkensailor · · Score: 3, Funny

    if i flash it can i use it as a calculator too?

    --
    i support the right to offend.
    1. Re:firmware flash by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Funny

      You don't want to do any flashing around these machines. The little old ladies behind the voting table will be watching you like a hawk and they're swoop down on you so fast with their canes before you could even think about flashing anyone. If you want a safe voting experience, you must see no evil, hear no evil or speak no evil when the voting machine flashes you!

    2. Re:firmware flash by An+Onerous+Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I wouldn't suggest it. With a Diebold calculator, you give it the problem, and also the solution you want it to give you when it's done calculating.

      --

      You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!

  2. meme seems appropriate by xanie · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm in your voting machine stealing your election.

    --
    Fundamentalism stops a thinking mind.
  3. America Has A Rootkit by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 5, Funny

    And no, SpybotSD can't help you.

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
  4. as we all know by User+956 · · Score: 3, Funny

    The paper details a simple method whereby the Princeton team was able to compromise the physical security of a Diebold voting machine, infecting it with a virus that could change voting results and spread by memory-card to other machines of the same type.

    It's not who votes that counts, it's who counts the votes.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  5. Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Cause after all, what's REALLY the worst that could happen in this election?

  6. FINALLY! by susano_otter · · Score: 2, Funny

    Finally, a Conspiracy Theory that is actually possible, from a technological standpoint.

    Now all we have to do is prove that it actually happened.

    --

    Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.

  7. My experience with Diebold by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny


    Welcome to democratic government, brought to you by Diebold(R)!

    Please choose a candidate:
    (1) The incumbent guy who's against the terrorists.
    (2) The weasly other guy who likes terrorists and wants your child to
            be gay.

    [press 2]

    You have chosen option (2), for gay marriage. Are you sure?

    [press no]

    Please choose a candidate.

    [press 2]

    Let's not be too hasty. We don't want the terrorists to feel good.
    Do you want the terrorists to feel good?

    [press no]

    You have chosen option (1), for the incumbent. Are you sure?

    [press cancel]

    This may forfeit your vote! Are you sure you wish to cancel not
    voting for option (1)?

    [press yes]

    Thank you for your participation in the democratic process! Printing
    receipt ...

    Sorry! Out of paper.

  8. Re:Who would want to tamper? Terrorists by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Possible Future, Nov 4th, 2008
    "While exit polls conducted by our station and others showed Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain neck-in-neck at nearly 50% in this highly contested state of Ohio, initial results from available precincts shows the winner of the state, and thus the country, as Osama bin Laden, with 107% of the vote. A tape allegedly featuring Mr. bin Laden was broadcast by the al Jazeera network just minutes ago, in which the terrorist mastermind said he was pleased by the clear mandate the capitalist pig masses had given him, and that he hoped his transition from a cave somewhere in Pakistan to the Oval Office would go smoothly. Back to you, Tom."

    I don't know, think that would wake people up?

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are
  9. Re:We've heard it before but... by Kesch · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hmm... I seem to have voted for Cherry, Cherry, Lemon

    --
    If this signature is witty enough, maybe somebody will like me.
  10. Re:If this can't finally nail the coffin lid shut by Don'tTreadOnMe · · Score: 2, Funny
    ...the last thing we need--but apparently the opposition wants...

    Clarification please: Who are we? And who is the opposition

    Just wondering...

  11. Gotta protect the privacy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    It barely flinched with the NASA wiretapping incident


    Damn! And I thought it was just us humans being spied upon. Now that NASA is wiretapping the universe nobody is safe!

  12. hack? by sckeener · · Score: 3, Funny

    How can one hack a diebold voting machine when they are open?

    Shouldn't these just be considered mods?

    --
    "Only one thing, is impossible for god: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain
  13. Re:Money more important than a fair vote? by megaditto · · Score: 4, Funny
    If elections officials told the public, "We're going to count by a secret counting method and we won't tell you how we're going to count; you'll just have to trust us that we picked the right person for the job," the public would burn down city hall.


    If elections officials told the public, "To protect your Freedom we are going to count by an undisclosed counting method and we won't help terrorists by telling the evildoers how we're going to protect the public and count the votes; you'll just have to support our troops and the person we picked for the job," the public would greet you as liberators

    There, corrected it for ya.
    --
    Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
  14. Re:We've heard it before but... by hmccabe · · Score: 4, Funny

    A vote for Cherry is a vote for Plum. Thanks for throwing away your vote, asshole.