Ahead Of 2020, Microsoft Unveils Tool To Allow Voters To Track Their Ballots

[G_j]

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/06/720071488/ahead-of-2020-microsoft-unveils-tool-to-allow-voters-to-track-their-ballots?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20190506


From checking in at a polling place on a tablet, to registering to vote by smartphone, to using an electronic voting machine to cast a ballot, computers have become an increasingly common part of voting in America.

But the underlying technology behind some of those processes is often a black box. Private companies, not state or local governments, develop and maintain most of the software and hardware that keep democracy chugging along. That has kept journalists, academics and even lawmakers from speaking with certainty about election security.

In an effort to improve confidence in elections, Microsoft announced Monday that it is releasing an open-source software development kit called ElectionGuard that will use encryption techniques to let voters know when their vote is counted. It will also allow election officials and third parties to verify election results to make sure there was no interference with the results.

"It's very much like the cybersecurity version of a tamper-proof bottle," said Tom Burt, Microsoft's vice president of customer security and trust, in an interview with NPR. "Tamper-proof bottles don't prevent any hack of the contents of the bottle, but it makes it makes it harder, and it definitely reveals when the tampering has occurred."

..more..

[Control-Z]

1. Seems they'd need cooperation with

state (county?) election officials. What are the chances that would ever happen?

I guess I should go to the link now and read the rest of the story. Perhaps the answer will be there.

[2naSalit]

2. I hope it's trustworthy...nt

[Wounded Bear]

3. My state already has a system...

And Microsoft lives here (WA).

I don't want Ms having anything to do with our elections, thank you very much.

[MyNameGoesHere]

4. It's open source

The 1990's jokes are cute though.

[Pobeka]

5. Somebody has to compile it.

Some OS has to execute it.

Nothing is foolproof. There's always a way to hack something, even open source. Or you can even hack the compiler. Depends on the risk/reward ratio. If you are Russia, the reward is huge. Vulnerabilities are endless...

I'll take a physical paper ballot over computerized ballots.

[MyNameGoesHere]

6. Well we could always turn off our computers

Shut off our phones, disconnect or destroy all our connected devices, burn down the internet, and blow up all the satellites. We might be safe then. Shit land lines, have to rip all those out too. And radios. Damn we're fucked.