{"id":15897,"date":"2016-09-15T05:00:29","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T12:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=15897"},"modified":"2020-12-24T10:13:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T18:13:32","slug":"election-hack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/election-hack\/","title":{"rendered":"Election Hack"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the presidential election only a few weeks away, questions swirl about the vulnerability of electronic voting machines.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s voting systems run the gamut from punch cards to touchscreens. This November, three-quarters of U.S. voters will cast a paper ballot, but the other 25% are triggering concern. As electronic voting machines get older and less secure, the question becomes: just how safe is our vote?\"shutterstock_305852261\"<\/p>\n

Over at Wired<\/a>, Brian Barrett investigates the vulnerabilities of America\u2019s electronic voting machines. Though he makes sure to emphasize there\u2019s \u201cno evidence of direct voting machine interference to date,\u201d he concedes the research is grim. Susceptibility to malware and denial of service attacks has repeatedly been demonstrated. In some cases, compromising an electronic voting machine could be as easy as jumping onto an unsecured Wi-Fi network.<\/p>\n

Just last year Virginia decertified<\/a> 3000 WINVote touchscreen voting machines when serious security problems were exposed, including \u201ca poorly secured Wi-Fi feature for tallying votes.\u201d At the time, Jeremy Epstein, a computer scientist with SRI International, noted, \u201c\u201canyone with even a modicum of training could have succeeded,\u201d including someone within a half-mile of a polling pace outfitted with \u201ca rudimentary antenna built using a Pringles can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hacking the Vote<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aging operating systems provide the biggest opportunity for would-be hackers. As Barrett explains, most electronic voting machines use some variation of Windows XP, which hasn\u2019t received a security patch in over two years. Unfortunately, most of the voting computers are at least a decade old, and just not equipped to deal with a sophisticated attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople weren\u2019t thinking about voting system security or all the additional challenges that come with electronic voting systems,\u201d Brennan Center\u2019s Lawrence Norden tells Wired. \u201cMoving to electronic voting systems solved a lot of problems, but created a lot of new ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Paper Trail<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the vulnerabilities of electronic voting machines are real and frightening, for the most part, fraud attempts can be easily thwarted through a simple paper trail. While plenty<\/a> of states combine some form of paper and electronic ballots,\u00a0most vote manipulation attempts\u00a0can be quickly caught by comparing paper records against computerized vote tallies.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the power of the paper trail lies in execution. Many states do not have formal voter assessment procedures in place. Even those required to by law to conduct post-election audits don\u2019t necessarily conduct them effectively. The lack of concrete checks and balances can be blamed on lack of funding and political will, says Norden.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe money\u2019s not there right now,\u201d says Norden. \u201cWe interviewed election officials who told us what they were hearing from their state legislators and others who would be funding this type of equipment, and they say come back to us after there\u2019s some kind of crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russian Interference<\/strong><\/p>\n

The recent Russian hack of DNC emails has once again put Russia in the spotlight, which, for security specialists like Ryan Maness, could be a blessing in disguise.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutin\u2019s not very nice, but he\u2019s not stupid,\u201d Maness, a visiting fellow at Northeastern University who specializes in international cyber conflict and Russian foreign policy, tells Wired. \u201cIf they were going to mess with the voting machines and the vote-counting software, they wouldn\u2019t have done the DNC hack.\u201d<\/p>\n

While foreign nations may sit this one out, three key swing states could still be seen as being in the line of fire. Overall, the threat is relatively small. Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania all use voting machines that Barrett describes as being \u201cin relatively good shape.\u201d Even better news, both Florida and Ohio have audit requirements in place. Pennsylvania relies heavily on DREs, but even election officials in the state can deploy paper ballots if those machines are compromised.<\/p>\n

The Danger of Uncertainty<\/strong><\/p>\n

Awareness of potential voting machine hacks may be enough to protect polls from outside manipulation as election officials hustle to establish effective security measures. Most of November\u2019s votes will be cast on paper ballots, and the potential security flaws associated with electronic voting machines can easily be mitigated by simple audits and paper records. Nevertheless, security experts and election watchdogs say there\u2019s reason to be concerned.<\/p>\n

\u201cOld equipment can have serious security flaws, and the longer we delay purchasing new machines, the higher the risk,\u201d warns Norden. \u201cTo avoid a new technology crisis every decade, we must plan for and invest in voting technology for the 21st<\/sup> century.\u201d<\/p>\n

While this year\u2019s election should be relatively hacker-free, Barrett points out a more insidious consequence: doubt.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuspicion is the real danger of electronic voting systems,\u201d Barrett writes. \u201cIf you can\u2019t guarantee that there was no tampering\u2014which not every state can\u2014it might not matter if any actually took place. In the wrong hands, the doubt itself is damaging enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the presidential election only a few weeks away, questions swirl about the vulnerability of electronic voting machines. Today\u2019s voting systems run the gamut from punch cards to touchscreens. This November, three-quarters of U.S. voters will cast a paper ballot, but the other 25% are triggering concern. As electronic voting machines get older and less […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":15907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1613,1610,1609,1614,1615,91,76,1612,1611],"class_list":["post-15897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-election","tag-hackers","tag-hacking","tag-president","tag-russia","tag-security","tag-technology-2","tag-voters","tag-voting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYardi Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the presidential election only a few weeks away, questions swirl about the vulnerability of electronic voting machines. 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