[ale] OT: Voting machines cracked in California

[JK]

Bob Toxen wrote:

> URL:
> 
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/28/MNGP6R8TJO1.DTL
> 
> This story starts...
> 
> State-sanctioned teams of computer hackers were able to break through
> the security of virtually every model of California's voting machines
> and change results or take control of some of the systems' electronic
> functions, according to a University of California study released Friday.
> 
> This completely undermines our right to vote (and the implied right
> to have our vote counted).
> 
> While the article claims that an [ordinary] thief would not have access
> to the machines' manuals, etc. "[because they are secret]".  That argument
> is nonsense.  Given the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars spent
> on National elections, bribing someone is trivial.

Not to mention that (A) clueful hackers don't need the manuals, and
(B) if it isn't still secure *even after* all the "secret" details
of the implementation are published, then it was never secure in
the first place.

Apparently trying to explain this to most US citizens is an exercise
in futility, though :-(

-- JK

-- 
"What can be asserted without evidence can also be
dismissed without evidence." -- Christopher Hitchens