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California Testers Find Flaws In Voting Machines

Posted by samzenpus on from the your-vote-can-count-many-times dept.

quanticle writes "According to Ars Technica, California testers have discovered severe flaws in the ES&S voting machines. The paper seals were easily bypassed, and the lock could be picked with a "common office implement". After cracking the physical security of the device, the testers found it simple to reconfigure the BIOS to boot off external media. After booting a version of Linux, they found that critical system files were stored in plain text. They also found that the election management system that initializes the voting machines used unencrypted protocols to transmit the initialization data to the voting machines, allowing for a man-in-the-middle attack. Altogether, it is a troubling report for a company already in hot water for selling uncertified equipment to counties."

8 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. "common office implement" by jolyonr · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do they really think this sounds more impressive than "paperclip" ?

    Jolyon

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    1. Re:"common office implement" by oahazmatt · · Score: 2, Funny

      Do they really think this sounds more impressive than "paperclip" ?
      Because it's obligatory:

      "Hi! Looks like you're trying to right the election! Need some help?"
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      Those who believe the Internet is private,
      find their privates are on the Internet.
  2. This begs the question by oliverthered · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does it make paperclips and Linux illegal in Germany now that they can be used for hacking?

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    thank God the internet isn't a human right.
  3. Re:WhiteHat Voting by jacekm · · Score: 2, Funny

    HB #2 pencile has a serious flaw. It is suspectible to the man in the middle with cheap eraser.

    JAM

  4. common office implement by Threni · · Score: 2, Funny

    What, a service pack?

  5. Translation... by daninspokane · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Common office implement" AKA: Paper clip and some whiteout I hear Richard Dean Anderson was on the testing team, so really, that's their own fault.

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    Slashdot is too nerdy for me.
  6. Re:ATM Machines by sdpuppy · · Score: 2, Funny
    Perhaps Diebold should go back to what they do best...

    ... manufacture daisy wheel printers.

    :-)

  7. Re:WhiteHat Voting by bvimo · · Score: 2, Funny

    In the UK we don't use rubbers, we start again with a virgin sheet.

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