Diebold Hack Hints at Wider Flaws

[kpete]

Diebold Hack Hints at Wider Flaws
By Kim Zetter | Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Dec. 21, 2005 PT


"Looking at these systems doesn't send off signals that ... if we just get rid of Diebold and go to another vendor we'll be safe," Thompson said. "We know the Diebold machines are vulnerable. As for ES&S, we don't know that they're bad but we don't know that they're (good) either."

Thompson and Harri Hursti, a Finnish computer scientist, were able to change votes on the Diebold machine without leaving a trace. Hursti conducted the same test for the California secretary of state's office Tuesday. The office did not return several calls for comment.

The hack Thompson and Hursti performed involves a memory card that's inserted in the Diebold machines to record votes as officials scan ballots. According to Thompson, data on the cards isn't encrypted or secured with passwords. Anyone with programming skills and access to the cards -- such as a county elections technical administrator, a savvy poll worker or a voting company employee -- can alter the data using a laptop and card reader.

To test the machines, Thompson and Hursti conducted a mock election on systems loaded with a rigged memory card. The election consisted of eight ballots asking voters to decide, yes or no, if the Diebold optical-scan machine could be hacked.

Six people voted "no" and two voted "yes." But after scanning the ballots, the total showed one "no" vote and seven "yes" votes.

Diebold did not return several calls for comment.
http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,69893,00.html?tw=rss.TOP

[FreedomAngel82]

1. Wow

Be sure to go to Ed Schultz's show and listen to his interview with Kerry. He talks about this issue too towards the end of the interview. Talking about how the machine's can be hacked.

[lovuian]

2. If California picks these machines after they have been shown

to be easily hacked... well I feel whoever puts them as a voting machine for elections is involved with a conspiracy...