Maryland: FBI investigating theft of Diebold Software

[Generic Other]

Officials Probing Possible Theft of Voting Software in Md.
Ex-Delegate Says FBI Contacted Her About Disks She Received
By Cameron W. Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 20, 2006;

The FBI is investigating the possible theft of software developed by the nation's leading maker of electronic voting equipment, said a former Maryland legislator who this week received three computer disks that apparently contain key portions of programs created by Diebold Election Systems.

Cheryl C. Kagan, a former Democratic delegate who has long questioned the security of electronic voting systems, said the disks were delivered anonymously to her office in Olney on Tuesday and that the FBI contacted her yesterday. The package contained an unsigned letter critical of Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone that said the disks were "right from SBE" and had been "accidentally picked up."

Lamone's deputy, Ross Goldstein, said "they were not our disks," but he acknowledged that the software was used in Maryland in the 2004 elections. Diebold said in a statement last night that it had never created or received the disks.

The disks bear the logos of two testing companies that send such disks to the Maryland board after using the software to conduct tests on Diebold equipment. A Ciber Inc. spokeswoman said the disks had not come from Ciber, and Wyle Laboratories Inc. said it was not missing any disks.

<snip>
The disks delivered to Kagan's office bear labels indicating that they hold "source code" -- the instructions that constitute the core of a software program -- for Diebold's Ballot Station and Global Election Management System (GEMS) programs. The former guides the operation of the company's touch-screen voting machines; the latter is in part a tabulation program used to tally votes after an election.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901818.html

[Greeby]

1. Forget that, save time and arrest the Diebold executives

Just sayin :shrug:

[Generic Other]

3. True. But I found it interesting to see that Agent Mike finally

has quit spying on DU and has gone to investigate Diebold and its doings. You don't have to scratch very deep to find something that smells there. I have every confidence that if the FBI actually did their jobs, they'd begin to figure out who the real criminals are.

Everytime Diebold's crappy voter software is compromised, we learn more about how they operate.

Wonder how it happened to walk off in the first place?

[MissWaverly]

15. Yes, but we are more fun to investigate

tin foil hats and all!

:-)

[lpbk2713]

2. Given that their software has been compromised.

Diebold equipment should be deemed unreliable and not used until a full investigation is completed.

[Generic Other]

4. drip drip drip

The basic problems have grown too big to ignore. Wasn't it Maryland where they ended up letting voters scrawl names on torn slips of paper when the machines failed? I guess if I was a poll worker, I'd bring extra paper this time. Doesn't sound like much has changed.

[Swamp Rat]

5. kick kick kick

:hi:

[Generic Other]

6. Whodunnit Swampy? Do we know them??? :)

Where's Agent Mike on this?

Avi Rubin delivers the punchline:

<snip>

Radke, the Diebold spokesman, said the versions of Ballot Station released since the version identified on the disks have many new security features. The Diebold statement said "it would take years for a knowledgeable scientist" to break the encryption used on the software apparently contained on the disks delivered to Kagan. But Rubin said "the data and files were not encrypted" on the Ballot Station disk he reviewed.

[Subdivisions]

7. As much sense as you make with this statement, consider this:

If the equipment were to be deemed unreliable, that could mean no elections.

[Generic Other]

8. Which is worse? A rigged election or no election?

They need to be stopped in their tracks.

[Eric J in MN]

9. We had elections before we had electical devices.

The governor of Maryland says they should vote on paper in November, and he's a Republican.

[Gregorian]

13. If we can print enough newpapers each day, we can print enough ballots.

Special paper, and the whole lot.

It's not like walking on the moon.

At most, two weeks. Done.

I don't even know why were talking about this stuff. It's so far beneath the level of what is considered default.

[spanone]

17. Bingo! We Have A Winner!!!

I agree with your post 150%.

[jazzjunkysue]

10. So, will it be analyzed for the hacking code? It's evidence of fraud.

Obviously, if I worked in the office that created the software and knew of the deliberate insertion of malicious code, I'd also drop it off in an unmarked envelope to the authorities.

Duh!

Get someone who reads code to analyze it and find the insertion of the bad code.

It's not the theft of the disks that matters. It's who wrote the code to rig the election?

[Generic Other]

11. Avi Rubin is analyzing it

If there's something there, he3's the man to find it, I think.

[jazzjunkysue]

19. Good to know.

[Canuckistanian]

16. Can it be subpoenaed?

Now that someone has a physical copy of the software, can it be used in any cases of suspected election fraud?

CA-50 comes to mind.

[BuyingThyme]

12. kcik

[Jack Rabbit]

14. I hope the thief publishes it

!!

[Earth_First]

18. This almost seems like a few highly creative activists...

I'm 50/50 on this one...