A virus in a voting machine...

[Frederic Bonroy]

Quote from http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/04/05/14_fixed.html

"A voting machine and software should be acquired and, at last, put to
honest use. Some computer experts claim that a virus can infect a voting
machine, alter the results, and then 'dissolve' leaving no trace of the
'fix.' [...]
Recently, on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart showed video of a computer
expert who claimed to have 'invaded' a sample voting machine, altered
the outcome of the election, and exited leaving no trace of the hack,
all within five minutes. Is this just show biz, or is it for real?"




Now I'm curious to know who these computer experts are and what exactly
a virus that does such a thing would look like, according to them.
Does anyone have any information on this matter? I am rather (very,
even) sceptical myself (obviously) though I have learned to never
exclude anything.

If it's true, it could be a hot summer in alt.comp.virus. ;-)

(Follow-up set to alt.comp.virus)

 

[null]

Quote from http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/04/05/14_fixed.html

"A voting machine and software should be acquired and, at last, put to
honest use. Some computer experts claim that a virus can infect a voting
machine, alter the results, and then 'dissolve' leaving no trace of the
'fix.' [...]
Recently, on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart showed video of a computer
expert who claimed to have 'invaded' a sample voting machine, altered
the outcome of the election, and exited leaving no trace of the hack,
all within five minutes. Is this just show biz, or is it for real?"

Now I'm curious to know who these computer experts are and what exactly
a virus that does such a thing would look like, according to them.
Does anyone have any information on this matter? I am rather (very,
even) sceptical myself (obviously) though I have learned to never
exclude anything.

It's hard to imagine the design of electronic voting machines being
done so stupidly. After all, what are the requirements of such a
system? Some means of supplying keyed inputs, and a bank of counters.
No way that such a simple dedicated system can be tampered with by
malicious code. There would be no place to enter it or process it.

The counts from the counters of each local voting system presumably
would be unloaded (copied) to some sort of storage media for transport
to some State location .... magnetic media physically transported,
perhaps. Meanwhile, the encrypted count data could/would be sent via
electronic means.

The central locations don't need general purpose computers either for
the tallying of counts. Only after all the counts are tallied and
count results studied for validity, etc., might the data be fed to
some general purpose computers.


Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg

 

[Bart Bailey]

In Message-ID:<[email protected]> posted on Fri, 14 May 2004

Quote from http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/04/05/14_fixed.html

"A voting machine and software should be acquired and, at last, put to
honest use. Some computer experts claim that a virus can infect a voting
machine, alter the results, and then 'dissolve' leaving no trace of the
'fix.' [...]
Recently, on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart showed video of a computer
expert who claimed to have 'invaded' a sample voting machine, altered
the outcome of the election, and exited leaving no trace of the hack,
all within five minutes. Is this just show biz, or is it for real?"




Now I'm curious to know who these computer experts are and what exactly
a virus that does such a thing would look like, according to them.
Does anyone have any information on this matter? I am rather (very,
even) sceptical myself (obviously) though I have learned to never
exclude anything.

If it's true, it could be a hot summer in alt.comp.virus. ;-)

Do you suppose the same "sampling and skewing" procedure, currently
performed manually, could be coded into an infective routine with an
exit and erase component?
The recent decertification of Diebold was refreshing news, but as the
article states, it's still dependent on our neanderthal Governator, who
acquired his office by those very machines.

 

[Bart Bailey]

Only after all the counts are tallied and
count results studied for validity, etc.,

This is where the "sampling and skewing" procedure is most likely
implemented.

might the

insert "cooked"

data be fed to
some general purpose computers.

....and then the repugs appear on TV,
flashing their shit-eating sardonic grin of victory. ;-)

 

[FromTheRafters]

This is where the "sampling and skewing" procedure is most likely
implemented.

Yep, the old fashioned way - but now with plausible deniability if
the hacking scenario is to be believed.

 

[Nick FitzGerald]

It's hard to imagine the design of electronic voting machines being
done so stupidly. After all, what are the requirements of such a
system? Some means of supplying keyed inputs, and a bank of counters.
No way that such a simple dedicated system can be tampered with by
malicious code. There would be no place to enter it or process it.

The counts from the counters of each local voting system presumably
would be unloaded (copied) to some sort of storage media for transport
to some State location .... magnetic media physically transported,
perhaps. Meanwhile, the encrypted count data could/would be sent via
electronic means.

The central locations don't need general purpose computers either for
the tallying of counts. Only after all the counts are tallied and
count results studied for validity, etc., might the data be fed to
some general purpose computers.

Then be prepared to be _VERY_ disappointed in your voting machine
experiences if you live in any of the areas (are US elections orhganized
at the county level?) that have purchased or are planning to do so for
their next elections any computer voting systems made by the largest
voting machine makers. Diebold has probably had most of the bad press,
but it seems that most of the others are little, if any better, having
systems built atop bog-standard Windows machines with all manner of
chronically inadequate "controls", fundamentally flawed (security-wise)
configurations all capped off (usually) with a total lack of a "paper
trail" auditing mechanism, necessary both should anything go wrong with
the computer-based system _AND_ so that random spot checks can be made
all round the place to ensure that the computer-based systems are not,
in fact, being fiddled.

(It appears that Diebold may be "in bed" with the GOP, and some high-
ranking (CEO ?) company official has apparently been overheard boasting
how his company won several close counties for the Republicans in recent
key elections. The US may consider itself as the epitome of democracy,
but it certainly needs to completely overhaul its voting systems and
mechanisms if it really even wants to enter that race. Fidel Castro has
offered to send independent election observers to the US this November
to help prevent a fiasco such as the previous Presidential election
produced. Given recent news about flaws and inadequacies in computer-
based voting machines that are now flooding the US electoral scene (paid
for from federal funds apportioned by the Bush administration after the
2000 elections -- a GOP payback to the likes of Diebold for their
"support"??), Bush would do well to accept Castro's offer...)

 

[Gabriele Neukam]

On that special day, Bart Bailey, ([email protected]) said...

The recent decertification of Diebold was refreshing news, but as the
article states, it's still dependent on our neanderthal Governator, who
acquired his office by those very machines.

Heh, don't call him thus. That would derogate our poor pre-inhabitants,
who have been Germans (the Neandertal is located near Duesseldorf, the
capital city of NRW, Northern Rhine - Westfalia), and not Austrians.

:-]]

Gabriele Neukam

(e-mail address removed)

 

[Frederic Bonroy]

The recent decertification of Diebold was refreshing news, but as the
article states, it's still dependent on our neanderthal Governator, who
acquired his office by those very machines.

Heh, don't call him thus. That would derogate our poor pre-inhabitants,
who have been Germans (the Neandertal is located near Duesseldorf, the
capital city of NRW, Northern Rhine - Westfalia), and not Austrians.

:-]]

What's wrong with Arnold? The general perception seems to have been that
Gray Davis was thoroughly incompetent. Schwarzenegger has no political
experience, but I actually view that as a forte. ;-)

 

[Ron 'Smitty' Roberts]

The recent decertification of Diebold was refreshing news,

First the dummycrats whine about punchcards, then they whine about a
system THEY rushed into place doesn't work well enough for them.
Probably because they couldn't rig the machines like they tried to rig
the 2000 election in south Florida.

but as the
article states, it's still dependent on our neanderthal Governator, who
acquired his office by those very machines.

Yeah, that and millions of Californians fed up with Greyout Davis!

 

[Ron 'Smitty' Roberts]

This is where the "sampling and skewing" procedure is most likely
implemented.


insert "cooked"


...and then the repugs appear on TV,
flashing their shit-eating sardonic grin of victory. ;-)

Only after another sleazebag like Davis or Bustamente loses! But then
_everyone_ smiles as the state becomes more prosperous, save for Bart
who'd like us all to be as miserable as he is.

 

[Bart Bailey]

On that special day, Bart Bailey, ([email protected]) said...

The recent decertification of Diebold was refreshing news, but as the
article states, it's still dependent on our neanderthal Governator, who
acquired his office by those very machines.

Heh, don't call him thus. That would derogate our poor pre-inhabitants,
who have been Germans (the Neandertal is located near Duesseldorf, the
capital city of NRW, Northern Rhine - Westfalia), and not Austrians.

:-]]

Certainly no offense intended to you Gaby, from your photo, you are an
attractive, healthy, contemporary European woman, who bears no resemblance
to the steroid soaked, borderline acromegalic, atavism that was installed
in California's highest office through a fraudulent electronic sham
election, that disenfranchised the voters of my state.