Securing Our Elections: Challenges and Solutions
The article delves into the critical issue of election security, highlighting vulnerabilities such as hacking, tampering, and outdated voting machines. It discusses potential threats like information leaks and voter suppression, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the electoral process. With insights from experts and real-world examples, it explores the risks and possible solutions to ensure the integrity of democratic elections.
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Elections Security WHAT S IT TAKE TO SECURE OUR ELECTIONS? Chad Magendanz | CXO, Voter Science 5/20/2017
But does this matter to me at the local level? ELECTIONS SECURITY
Firstsome context! ELECTIONS SECURITY
Ripped from the Headlines Hacking of DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign emails Repeated claims from Donald Trump of election rigged against him Coordinated tampering (SQL Injection) attacks on voter registration databases in 20 states (at least 2 successfully) DDoS and zero-day attacks in Ukraine s 2014 parliamentary elections to fake election results Outdated and unsupported electronic voting machines being decertified by states for their security issues PAGE 8 9/23/2024
Vulnerabilities Roughly 187,000 precincts across 13,000 jurisdictions GEMS Fraction Magic - Fractional vote feature embedded in application which can be used to invisibly, yet radically, alter election outcomes by pre-setting desired vote percentages to redistribute votes EVMs manufacturers consolidated to three companies: Dominion Voting Systems (Toronto), Election Systems & Software (Omaha), Hart InterCivic (Austin) 21.55% of votes cast in the 2016 elections had no paper trail! PAGE 9 9/23/2024
Where can things go wrong? Information Leaks Bogus Voter Registration Voter Suppression Vote Tampering Undermining Confidence in System PAGE 10 9/23/2024
Any hope for the future? ELECTIONS SECURITY
Ballot Images A NEW WAY TO VERIFY THAT RESULTS ARE TRUE CROWDSOURCING! This is already available in most systems Laws are already on the books to authorize you to do this Costs almost nothing and enables almost everyone to authenticate computerized voting system results All that remains is cooperation (or court-ordered coercion) of public agencies to force them to honor your rights PAGE 12 9/23/2024
Blockchain THE IMMUTABLE, DISTRIBUTED LEDGER THAT POWERS BITCOIN PAGE 13
Blockchain THE IMMUTABLE, DISTRIBUTED LEDGER THAT POWERS BITCOIN PAGE 14
AI Auditing SHOULD WE HAND OVER CONTROL OF OUR ELECTIONS TO SKYNET? Develop a machine learning service that will monitor network activity and report to human experts who will filter out the noise The man and machine combination will help network admins detect and stop breaches before they become damaging. This is the sort of service that many organizations such as banks are now moving to adopt. Government can t afford to lag behind. PAGE 15 9/23/2024
Protecting the campaign ELECTIONS SECURITY
Is your data secure? Because of their short lifespan, campaigns are for the most part woefully weak in securing their data against cyber attacks. The focus is rarely on cybersecurity, there s little or no federal and local oversight on security practices. Information stored by campaigns, which includes donor information, internal emails, opposition research and vulnerability studies, is quite sensitive, and makes them attractive targets. PAGE 17 9/23/2024
Move to the cloud! Don t spend a hefty part of your limited budget buying equipment and software to secure a campaign that will last mere months. Cloud-based security such as web application firewalls (WAF) and DDoS protection services do not require any upfront investments and can be paid for in an on-demand model. Has ability to scale based on the changing needs of your campaign. PAGE 18 9/23/2024
Resources Election Assistance Commission (EAC.gov) National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST.gov) OpenElectionData.net BlackBoxVoting.org FollowMyVote.com VoteWatcher.com PAGE 19 9/23/2024
