Thursday, June 29, 2006
Be Afraid - Vulnerability of Electronic Voting Machines
Remember 2004 * The Internet - Republicans Go After Consumers, Again
Election fraud by manipulation of Diebold voting machines in Ohio was reported after the 2004 presidential election. There was no conclusive evidence. Now, as the nation gears up for mid-term elections, to be followed by the race for 2008 presidential election, the Post reports" "A Single Person Could Swing An Election"To determine what it would take to hack a U.S. election, a team of cybersecurity experts turned to a fictional battleground state called Pennasota and a fictional gubernatorial race between Tom Jefferson and Johnny Adams. It's the year 2007, and the state uses electronic voting machines. Jefferson was forecast to win the race by about 80,000 votes, or 2.3 percent of the vote. Adams's conspirators thought, "How easily can we manipulate the election results?"
- The report concluded that the three major electronic voting systems in use have significant security and reliability vulnerabilities. But it added that most of these vulnerabilities can be overcome by auditing printed voting records to spot irregularities. And while 26 states require paper records of votes, fewer than half of those require regular audits.
- "With electronic voting systems, there are certain attacks that can reach enough voting machines . . . that you could affect the outcome of the statewide election," said Lawrence D. Norden, associate counsel of the Brennan Center.
This must be music to some ears and not all of them are hackers. Now, more than ever, there is need to be on guard against the nefarious fraudsters who will go to any length to attain power and retain it.
"Net Neutrality"
Following their usual practice the Republicans in Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee voted against consumers' interests. "A proposal to prevent Internet service providers from charging Web firms more for faster service to consumers failed yesterday to clear a Senate committee."
- The bill would make it easier for telephone companies to expand into the cable television franchise business, a move which lawmakers hope will result in more competition and lower prices for consumers.
".....more competition and lower prices". We have heard that song before. The large telecom companies are straining at the leash for an opportunity to assess charges on use of Internet.
- Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the committee, said he was not sure he had the 60 votes necessary to move the legislation forward. He said he would be open to negotiating with Democrats in September, when Congress comes back from its recess.
- The House passed its telecom bill earlier this month, and both versions include weaker net-neutrality language that would require the Federal Communications Commission to study and monitor the issue.
