I recommend reading some of the reports produced after the E-voting trials in Norway: http://www.ifes.org/Content/Publications/News-in-Brief/2012/June/Speed-Efficiency-and-Compliance-an-Evaluation-of-E-Voting-in-Norway.aspx
As for my point of view (as a former sceptic), I was convinced during the process that the trials were held at a necessary level both with regards to voter and ballot security. The reason for not continuing the trials was "political" - not based on the results from the trials. We had a general election in Norway two years later, and the parties that are "against" E-voting in the first place won that election...
The source code and documentation from the trials are available (the web page is in Norwegian): http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/kmd/prosjekter/e-valg-2011-prosjektet/kildekode/tilgang-pa-kildekode.html?id=646007
David Lorge Parnas have discussed the topic of software flaws from different angles. One I find very interesting is the one regarding our responsibility as sofware engineers. Do we have a professional responsibility for not making software that a)We know will not work properly, b)Will harm people or the environment, or c)We lack the professionalism to produce?
At present the answer to these questions seems to be: NO!
I suggest reading one of Parnas' papers, SDI: A Violation of Professional Responsibility, where he presents the arguments for leaving the SDI (Star Wars) programme due to his belief that such a system could not be built properly.
The norwegian site Digi published an article today pointing to this interesting article about CAVEAT CLICKER:
Adobe PDF and Trojan Horses - published by Gisle Hannemyr back in 1998...
I think one of the reasons OSS is regarded as "not-so-safe" when it comes to safety-critical systems - is the lack of open standards. Very few OSS-contributors buys the IEC61508 just to make sure their product complies with the standard. QA should be the first step on a long journey towards making rigid open source safety standards.
My point is - if (or when) OSS is _better_ than other software - how do we confirm that ?
I hope some day in the near future I will be able to say to my Airline company: "I hope your plane is controlled by 100% Open Source. I would like to review the source code before takeoff."
I would _really_ not like an answer like: "Uh - no . We're still using Win95...."
Slashdot Mirror
I recommend reading some of the reports produced after the E-voting trials in Norway:
http://www.ifes.org/Content/Publications/News-in-Brief/2012/June/Speed-Efficiency-and-Compliance-an-Evaluation-of-E-Voting-in-Norway.aspx
As for my point of view (as a former sceptic), I was convinced during the process that the trials were held at a necessary level both with regards to voter and ballot security. The reason for not continuing the trials was "political" - not based on the results from the trials. We had a general election in Norway two years later, and the parties that are "against" E-voting in the first place won that election...
The source code and documentation from the trials are available (the web page is in Norwegian):
http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/kmd/prosjekter/e-valg-2011-prosjektet/kildekode/tilgang-pa-kildekode.html?id=646007
David Lorge Parnas have discussed the topic of software flaws from different angles. One I find very interesting is the one regarding our responsibility as sofware engineers.
Do we have a professional responsibility for not making software that a)We know will not work properly, b)Will harm people or the environment, or c)We lack the professionalism to produce?
At present the answer to these questions seems to be: NO!
I suggest reading one of Parnas' papers, SDI: A Violation of Professional Responsibility, where he presents the arguments for leaving the SDI (Star Wars) programme due to his belief that such a system could not be built properly.
Norwegian law states that no one under the age of 15 (when the crime was comitted) may be subject to Penal Code (46)
L.
The norwegian site Digi published an article today pointing to this interesting article about CAVEAT CLICKER: Adobe PDF and Trojan Horses - published by Gisle Hannemyr back in 1998...
Sincerely, Rune
My point is - if (or when) OSS is _better_ than other software - how do we confirm that ?
I hope some day in the near future I will be able to say to my Airline company: "I hope your plane is controlled by 100% Open Source. I would like to review the source code before takeoff."
I would _really_ not like an answer like: "Uh - no . We're still using Win95...."
-rune