Securing Elections

guest · Sep 3, 2018

Japan is experimenting with a blockchain-powered voting system
Tsukuba will host the trial
September 3, 2018
https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/09/03/japan-city-blockchain-voting/

Japan is the latest country to consider using blockchain for voting. Tsukuba is set to become the country’s first city to trial blockchain-powered digital voting.

The system will rely on the Japanese equivalent of social security cards to verify voter identity. Currently, the solution is being used to allow citizens to cast votes on “social contribution projects,” the Japan Times reports.

However, rather than placing a mark against a relevant response for a vote and placing the ballot card in a secure box, voters will place their votes on a screen. [...] The system will use blockchain tech to prevent falsifying any of the data recorded, according to the Japan Times.

It remains unclear if there are any additional safeguards against voter fraud, in Tsukuba’s trial of the tech.
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guest · Sep 6, 2018

Scientific collective calls for paper-based voting machines, no more internet voting
September 6, 2018
https://statescoop.com/scientific-c...based-voting-machines-no-more-internet-voting

In a press release announcing the NASEM report, Lee Bollinger, president of Columbia University and co-chair of the committee that produced the report said "this is a critical time for our country" and called on all levels of government to prioritize the use of paper ballots.

NASEM's recommendations are all oriented around ensuring that election infrastructure is not vulnerable to tampering and that results can be verified. Chief among the recommendations is that all voting machines that do not create a paper trail allowing for independent auditing be "removed from service as soon as possible."

Internet-based voting systems, the report says, should not be used in any form until they can someday be verified as trusted and secure.
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Minimalist · Sep 16, 2018

Wisconsin officials prepare for potential election hackers

A private vendor inadvertently introduces malware into voting machines he is servicing. A hacker hijacks the cellular modem used to transmit unofficial Election Day results. An email address is compromised, giving bad actors the same access to voting software as a local elections official.

These are some of the potential vulnerabilities of Wisconsin’s election system described by cybersecurity experts.
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https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/sep/16/wisconsin-officials-prepare-for-potential-election/

Minimalist · Sep 18, 2018

Symantec offers political campaigns service to guard against website spoofing

Symantec on Tuesday became the latest cybersecurity giant to offer free election security services to political campaigns and election officials ahead of the 2018 midterm vote.

The California-based company’s AI-fueled service is designed to thwart malicious websites that spoof legitimate ones to steal personal information. That threat is a prime concern given the numerous political candidates that are running websites with limited budgets.
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https://www.cyberscoop.com/symantec-election-security-website-spoofing/

guest · Sep 18, 2018

Federal judge rejects paper ballots for 2018 Georgia election
September 18, 2018
https://politics.myajc.com/news/sta...2018-georgia-election/MPNGITqPbZ9wYfZ0NEP1IJ/

A federal judge ruled Monday that Georgia can continue using electronic voting machines in November’s election despite concerns they could be hacked.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg denied a request for an injunction that would have forced the state’s 6.8 million voters to switch to hand-marked paper ballots.

Totenberg made her decision in an ongoing lawsuit from voters and election integrity organizations who say Georgia’s direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines are untrustworthy and insecure. Georgia is one of five states that relies entirely on electronic voting machines without a verifiable paper backup.

Georgia was the first state in the country to switch to all-electronic voting devices in 2002.
“It’s a huge risk for every Georgia voter. ... The current system is hopelessly unsecure,” said David Cross, an attorney for a group of Georgia voters who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
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Minimalist · Sep 21, 2018

Report Shows Increased Cybersecurity for Voter Registration in US

According to a report by the Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR) nonprofit, shows that voter registration databases (VRDBs) are more secure in 2018, with most states involved in the survey have added access monitoring and backups.
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https://news.softpedia.com/news/rep...ity-for-voter-registration-in-us-522822.shtml

Minimalist · Sep 22, 2018

Stung by hacks, the Democratic National Committee is switching from Android to iPhones

Bob Lord, chief information officer of the Democratic National Committee, swears this is not a “religious debate.” But after the alleged hacks of its systems during the 2016 presidential campaign and the possibility that bad actors could try something similar again for the midterms, the DNC has decided to promote the usage of iPhones across its staff as well as across the larger Democratic sphere. Meaning campaigns and state-level groups, too.
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https://bgr.com/2018/09/21/democrats-hack-fears-shift-to-iphone/

Minimalist · Sep 24, 2018

In this election security drill, Massachusetts cops battle hackers to protect the vote

With just weeks until the midterm elections, police in Massachusetts gathered last Thursday to practice responding to cyberattacks from an adversary bent on disrupting the democratic process.

The simulation, hosted at the Boston headquarters of network security company Cybereason, pitted a police team that included former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis against a red team of hackers looking to exacerbate political divisions. The tabletop drill was a strategic duel, with the red team trying to suppress the vote and the cops mobilizing resources in response.
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https://www.cyberscoop.com/massachusetts-election-security-drill/

ronjor · Sep 26, 2018

The Crisis of Election Security

By Kim Zetter Sept. 26, 2018
As the midterms approach, America’s electronic voting systems are more vulnerable than ever. Why isn’t anyone trying to fix them?
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hawki · Sep 27, 2018

"Widely used election machines are vulnerable to cyberattack

Voting machines used by election officials in more than half of the states in the U.S. contain a flaw that could allow hackers to access systems and change vote totals remotely.

A report created at the DefCon hacker conference detailed a security flaw in an older model of machines manufactured by Election Systems & Software LLC, the nation's leading election equipment seller, that allows hackers to exploit the machines remotely via a networking bug, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Model 650 machines, which company representatives told the Journal it ceased manufacturing in 2008, are used by precincts in more than half of the states across the country.

Other flaws affecting the Model 650 and other machines would require a hacker to gain physical access to voter machines with a device such as a thumb drive in order to alter votes. The 650 series, however, is vulnerable to two flaws that could also allow remote access,.."

https://thehill.com/policy/technolo...y-states-are-vulnerable-to-cyberattack-report

Minimalist · Sep 28, 2018

DEF CON founder says there’s a ‘civil war’ at voting vendors over security

There is a “civil war’ going on at big U.S. voting-equipment vendors between employees who want to proactively address security vulnerabilities and those who stubbornly oppose doing that, according to DEF CON founder Jeff Moss.
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https://www.cyberscoop.com/def-con-founder-civil-war-voting-equipment-vendors/

Minimalist · Oct 2, 2018

Rep. Speier: Congress needs a hack demo to understand election vulnerabilities

Lawmakers still need a hands-on demonstration of voting equipment vulnerabilities to fully grasp the urgency of election security, according to Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif.
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https://www.cyberscoop.com/jackie-speier-election-security-def-con-voting-village/

Minimalist · Oct 3, 2018

Election security experts wonder what lies beyond 2018

With just over a month until the midterms, election officials from across the country say they’re more prepared to fend off election security threats thanks to increased partnerships with the federal government and financial assistance from Congress. But without legislation to solidify these newfound intergovernmental relationships, it’s unclear if the developments will hold beyond 2018.
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https://www.cyberscoop.com/election-security-readiness-summit-eac-funding/

Minimalist · Oct 13, 2018

West Virginia's voting experiment stirs security fears

West Virginia is about to take a leap of faith in voting technology — but it could put people's ballots at risk.

Next month, it will become the first state to deploy a smartphone app in a general election, allowing hundreds of overseas residents and members of the military stationed abroad to cast their ballots remotely. And the app will rely on blockchain, the same buzzy technology that underpins Bitcoin, in yet another Election Day first.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/13/west-virginia-voting-app-security-846130

Minimalist · Oct 16, 2018

Up to 35 Million 2018 Voter Records For Sale on Hacking Forum

Up to 35 million voter records have been found up for sale on a popular hacking forum from 19 states, researchers discovered.

Researchers at Anomali Labs and Intel 471 on Monday said that they discovered Dark Web communications offering a large quantity of voter databases for sale – including valuable personally identifiable information and voter history.
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https://threatpost.com/up-to-35-million-2018-voter-records-for-sale-on-hacking-forum/

Minimalist · Oct 16, 2018

Facebook Expands Efforts to Squash Voter Suppression

Facebook plans to expand its content-policing on its site, aiming to crack down on profiles and pages that it deems are aimed at voter suppression ahead of the 2018 U.S. midterm elections.

Specifically, social-media giant will penalize those that spread disinformation about voting requirements with a ban or by burying their posts, with a warning label, deep down in the News Feed. It also said that it will dedicate a team to fact-checking any reports of violence or long lines at polling stations.
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https://threatpost.com/facebook-expands-efforts-to-squash-voter-suppression

guest · Oct 17, 2018

After 2016 Hack, Illinois Says Election System Secure
October 17, 2018
https://www.securityweek.com/after-2016-hack-illinois-says-election-system-secure

Board of Elections Chairman William Cadigan and a group of state and local officials — including Illinois National Guard leaders — said in Chicago that beefed-up measures to monitor and spot cybersecurity risks will ensure a fair and free election.

Officials discovered in summer 2016 that a hacker had downloaded information on up 76,000 Illinois voters in what federal authorities allege was a concentrated attack by Russian intelligence agents, but whether they penetrated states other than Illinois has never been determined.

"We want our communities and our voters to know that we as election officials in Illinois are focused on protecting our systems with rigorous attention to cybersecurity," Turner said.
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Minimalist · Oct 19, 2018

Facebook Creates War Room to Combat Fake News Ahead of September Elections

Samidh Chakrabarti, Facebook's Director of Product Management, Civic Engagement, announced that the social network had created a physical elections war room designed to help them address fake news in real time.
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https://news.softpedia.com/news/fac...ews-ahead-of-september-elections-523313.shtml

guest · Oct 22, 2018

McAfee CTO raises concerns about election cyber security
October 22, 2018
https://www.computerweekly.com/news...raises-concerns-about-election-cyber-security

Cyber security concerns around voting should be around the processes involved rather than just the electronic equipment used, according to Steve Grobman, senior vice-president and chief technology officer at security firm McAfee.

“We found, for example, that a lot of the jurisdictions are using .com, .net and .org for their official voting information sites [...]" This means that anyone could register sites with very similar appearing names that could trick people into clicking on and sharing information with lookalike sites.

The second issue, said Grobman, is that some of the “most basic” cyber hygiene practices are not being followed by some local jurisdictions. [...] Not all election-related sites are using secure socket layer (SSL) or transport layer security (TSS), [...]

In summary, Grobman said there are definite cyber security risks to the election process through a variety of means.
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hawki · Oct 23, 2018

"U.S. Begins First Cyberoperation Against Russia Aimed at Protecting Elections

WASHINGTON — The United States Cyber Command is targeting individual Russian operatives to try to deter them from spreading disinformation to interfere in elections, telling them that American operatives have identified them and are tracking their work, according to officials briefed on the operation.

The campaign, which includes missions undertaken in recent days, is the first known overseas cyberoperation to protect American elections, including the November midterms...

Senior defense officials said they were not directly threatening the operatives. Still, former officials said anyone singled out would know, based on the United States government’s actions against other Russian operatives, that they could be indicted or targeted with sanctions...

the American campaign undertaken in response to Russia’s information offensive is limited in large part to keep Moscow from escalating in response by taking down the power grid or conducting some other reprisal that could trigger a bigger clash between great powers..."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/us/politics/russian-hacking-usa-cyber-command.html

guest · Oct 23, 2018

Compromising vital infrastructure: how voting machines and elections are vulnerable
October 22, 2018
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cyber...ructure-voting-machines-elections-vulnerable/

In our first post in a series about vital infrastructure, we aim to explore how secure our voting machines—and our votes in general—are ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Here, we ask ourselves: How can our infrastructure be compromised? What are the consequences, and how can we prevent attacks or limit the damage?

An investigation conducted by the US federal government came to the conclusion that online voting is not yet feasible. The same committee offered paper ballots as the alternative.
Countermeasures
From the above, it should be clear that any countermeasures to reach a higher level of trustworthy election results will have to come from the body holding the election. A uniform procedure would also make it easier to get trustworthy results in a timely manner. [...]
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guest · Oct 25, 2018

I Bought Used Voting Machines on eBay for $100 Apiece. What I Found Was Alarming
October 25, 2018
https://www.wired.com/story/i-bought-used-voting-machines-on-ebay/

I'm a security researcher at Symantec who started buying the machines as part of an ongoing effort to identify their vulnerabilities and strengthen election security.

In 2016 [...] I reverse-engineered the machines to understand how they could be manipulated. [...] Within hours, I was able to change the candidates' names to be that of anyone I wanted.

This year, I bought two more machines to see if security had improved. To my dismay, I discovered that the newer model machins [...]
Our voting machines, billed as “next generation,” and still in use today, are worse than they were before—dispersed, disorganized, and susceptible to manipulation.

One vulnerability we uncovered in voting machines is the chip card used in electronic voting machines. This inexpensive card can be purchased for $15 and programmed with simple code that allows the user to vote multiple times. [...]
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guest · Oct 27, 2018

Texas has a long history of problems with Hart eSlate voting machines
October 26, 2018
https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/26/texas-voting-machines-changing-votes-hart-eslate/

During early voting in some Texas counties, a handful of voters reported seeing their straight-ticket votes changed to endorse the opposing party. [...] All of those individuals caught the mistake and were able to correct their ballots before casting them

ALERT: We have received multiple reports from voters who voted straight-ticket, then saw on a later screen that their votes were changed to that of the opposite party. You must check your ballot before casting to ensure it’s correct, and you can ask a poll worker for help.
— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) October 25, 2018
The issue is specific to Hart eSlates, electronic voting systems created by major voting machine vendor Hart Intercivic. The Secretary of State’s office maintains that this issue is “not due to a malfunction with the machine” but rather is a result of user error.

Keith Ingram, director of the Texas Secretary of State’s Elections Division, issued a full advisory on the eSlate error: [...]
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guest · Oct 27, 2018

Recommended Reading: Midterms have already been hacked
The best long-form writing on technology and more on the web
October 27, 2018
https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/27/recommended-reading-midterms-have-already-been-hacked/

The concerns regarding voting processes in the US are nothing new, especially when it comes to vulnerabilities. Vox is the latest to take an in-depth look at the troubling issues surrounding voting systems ahead of the midterms on November 6th.
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ronjor · Oct 29, 2018

Election hacking: The myths vs. realities

By Dan Patterson October 29, 2018
Cris Thomas, space rogue, global strategy lead at IBM X-Force Red, discusses the myths and realities of hacking election machines with CNET's Dan Patterson.
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