Reply #13: MIAMI-OPINION: TESTS SHOW FLAWS IN SYSTEM, NEED FOR PAPER TRAIL [View All]

No excuses for gaps in election securityOUR OPINION: TESTS SHOW FLAWS IN SYSTEM, NEED FOR PAPER TRAILSome people will think that the Tallahassee election supervisor's experiment of hacking into his voting machines was just a bit of grandstanding. But even if it were -- and we don't think it was -- anyone responsible for, or interested in, accurate election results should pay close attention. The tests by Leon County election supervisor Ion Sancho showed that even voting equipment believed to be secure can remain vulnerable to a determined hacker.
A paper trail
Both the state of Florida and the manufacturer of Leon County's Diebold optical-scan machines had certified that the equipment was secure. Mr. Sancho, who advocates having a paper trail as a backup to all voting equipment, wasn't convinced that the Diebold system, a version of which is used by 29 Florida counties, is completely safe.
So Mr. Sancho conducted two tests. The first experiment tested whether an outsider could break into the system. Good news: The expert hired to crack into the system failed. Next, the tester tried to break in from the inside, as could happen with anyone who has access or gains access to voting machines. This time, the hacker was more than successful. He found the system extremely vulnerable.
For example, although the machine asked for a user name and password, it didn't require it. As a result, the intruder was able to get into the voting machine, manipulate its data and leave without a trace. That's scary. The tests show that any voting system, including the touch-screen machines used in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, is vulnerable.

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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/13419065.htm

From the Howard Dean, Bev Harris, hack the vote video:



Harris: Let's just see what happened here. We'll go back into GEMS the legitimate way, you're the county supervisor, you're checking on the progress of your election, and as you can see now, Howard Dean only has 500 votes, Lex Luther has 900 and Tiger Woods has 100 votes.

Dean: Hm.

Harris: We just edited an election, it took us 90 seconds.


Dean: Bev Harris, this really points out why it's important to have a paper trail-- so people can't alter the results.