Study Questions Security Of Voting Machines
San Diego County May Purchase Touch-Screen Voting Systems
POSTED: 5:27 p.m. PDT July 25, 2003
UPDATED: 2:44 p.m. PDT July 27, 2003
SAN DIEGO -- New touch-screen voting machines that are set to be used in San Diego County in 2004 are getting a great deal of criticism. Some believe the new system will cause more problems than it will solve.
Aviel Rubin was a contributor to a Johns Hopkins University study that claims gaping security holes have been found in the touch-screen voting machines made by Diebold Election Systems.
"It appears than an accidental leak made all of that code available on the Internet. We did an analysis of it and found a lot of security problems," Rubin told 10News. "Perhaps the most serious thing that we found is that a malicious voter has the ability to go into a polling place and vote an unlimited number of times for whatever candidate they want."
The main problem, according to Rubin, is security of the the software inside the voting terminal. The study found that one password may work for the entire system. It has been said that a 15-year-old with decent computer knowledge could hack into the system, 10News reported.
Registrar of Voters Sally McPherson said the voting machines have not been purchased yet. She said the machines meet federal election standards.
"From what we know at this date and time, it would be difficult, maybe even impossible, for someone to manipulate the software or hardware. There are safe guards in the voting process," McPherson said.
The goal of the machines is to allow voters to use a "smart card" that would let voters breeze through the process.
McPherson said that it is not possible for a poll worker to simply grab a voter's smart card and change their vote.
"Their are safeguards that are in place for the entire elections process as well as testing -- months and months of testing."
McPherson said she will demand answers from Diebold, as well as get input from the secretary of state. She said people should keep their faith in the voting process.
"We will not move forward if we do not have the answers," McPherson assured 10News.
In a statement from Diebold Elections Systems, the company said it respectfully disagrees with the researchers' conclusions and that those who conducted the study do not have real world election experience.
Aviel Rubin was a contributor to a Johns Hopkins University study that claims gaping security holes have been found in the touch-screen voting machines made by Diebold Election Systems.
"It appears than an accidental leak made all of that code available on the Internet. We did an analysis of it and found a lot of security problems," Rubin told 10News. "Perhaps the most serious thing that we found is that a malicious voter has the ability to go into a polling place and vote an unlimited number of times for whatever candidate they want."
The main problem, according to Rubin, is security of the the software inside the voting terminal. The study found that one password may work for the entire system. It has been said that a 15-year-old with decent computer knowledge could hack into the system, 10News reported.
Registrar of Voters Sally McPherson said the voting machines have not been purchased yet. She said the machines meet federal election standards.
"From what we know at this date and time, it would be difficult, maybe even impossible, for someone to manipulate the software or hardware. There are safe guards in the voting process," McPherson said.
The goal of the machines is to allow voters to use a "smart card" that would let voters breeze through the process.
McPherson said that it is not possible for a poll worker to simply grab a voter's smart card and change their vote.
"Their are safeguards that are in place for the entire elections process as well as testing -- months and months of testing."
McPherson said she will demand answers from Diebold, as well as get input from the secretary of state. She said people should keep their faith in the voting process.
"We will not move forward if we do not have the answers," McPherson assured 10News.
In a statement from Diebold Elections Systems, the company said it respectfully disagrees with the researchers' conclusions and that those who conducted the study do not have real world election experience.Copyright 2003 by TheSanDiegoChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
