Bugtraq mailing list archives
Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes
From: Seth Breidbart <sethb () panix com>
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 22:44:42 -0400 (EDT)
Claudius Li <aprentic () sectae net> wrote:
This book has a whole section on electronic voting. In it, Mr. Schneier lists several thing which we expect a voting system to provide; anonymity, accountability, verifiability, and others. He also points out that there is a theoretical limit to the level to which all of these can be satisfied. That is, we can never guarantee all of them with 100% confidence. This limit seems to extended to all voting systems whether they are electronic, paper based, clay-shards-in-an-amphora, or raised hands.
. . .
So my question is, given that this seems to be a solved problem why is there so much debate on finding the solution? Surely I am missing something obvious.
First, such methods provide confidence only to those of us capable of understanding them. Second, to those of us as above, they provide confidence only to the extent that we trust the code being run (which at the least requires it to run on our own computers, and preferably is written by us; I'd trust code I wrote, even though it might have bugs; I'd trust code Bruce wrote, because I know and trust him. I'd trust, to a lesser degree, code that Bruce vetted, because I know how hard it is to examine code and how easy it is to slip something in that's very hard to find.) Paper-verified-voting is easily understood and verifiable by _anybody_. Tricky cryptographic protocols are understood by few and verifiable by a lot fewer. And, if the protocol is run on a computer I don't control using code I don't control, then I have no confidence no matter what protocol it _claims_ to use. Seth
Current thread:
- RE: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes, (continued)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Jay Hennigan (Sep 22)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Homer (Sep 22)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Rainer Duffner (Sep 22)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Mike Ely (Sep 22)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Claudius Li (Sep 25)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Seth Breidbart (Sep 27)
- RE: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes David Schwartz (Sep 28)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Adam Shostack (Sep 29)
- RE: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes David Schwartz (Sep 29)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Seth Breidbart (Sep 29)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Claudius Li (Sep 25)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Enrique A. Chaparro (Sep 28)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Dana Hudes (Sep 29)
- Re: Diebold Global Election Management System (GEMS) Backdoor Account Allows Authenticated Users to Modify Votes Patrick J. Kobly (Sep 28)