14 DAY TRIAL // A recent study, released by Ohio's Secretary of State, reveals that the Ohio's electronic voting systems are pretty insecure as they contain several flaws which may have an important impact over the "integrity of elections in the Buckeye State". Jennifer Brunner wrote that the voting technology should be well improved since most of the tests disclosed critical security vulnerabilities. EVEREST (Evaluation & Validation of Election-Related Equipment, Standards & Testing) tested the voting machines for system performance, security of the voting process, "configuration to currently certified systems specifications" and "operations and internat controls that could mitigate risk", as the Ohio Secretary of State wrote.
"The results underscore the need for a fundamental change in the structure of Ohio's election system to ensure ballot and voting system security while still making voting convenient and accessible to all Ohio voters", Secretary Brunner said Friday, unveiling the report. "In an era of computer-based voting systems, voters have a right to expect that their voting system is at least as secure as the systems they use for banking and communication."
It seems like the electronic voting technology didn't implement basic security measures, such as firewall installations or other security applications. Because of that, simple attacking tools could be used to exploit the flaws, causing important damages over the entire system.
"To put it in every-day terms, the tools needed to compromise an accurate vote count could be as simple as tampering with the paper audit trail connector or using a magnet and a personal digital assistant. It's a testament to our state's boards of elections officials that elections on the new HAVA mandated voting systems have gone as smoothly as they have in light of these findings", the Ohio Secretary of State continued.
If you want to read the entire statement published by Jennifer Brunner, please follow this link.