MSNBC just said that the app was made available to the precinct captains a few day ago.

[jg10003]

I have been a systems programmer/analyst for 30 years. My first programming job was on a 2000 pound mainframe with a 2 megabyte hard drive. I have a few questions.
Was the app tested on a large scale simulation?
Were backup systems in place in case the app failed?
Were the backup systems tested on the same large scale simulation as the app?
Was the app independently audited?
Was there formal training for the end-users?

I have worked for some of the nation's biggest banks, credit card companies, and pubic utilities. None of them would accept an answer of "no" to any of these questions.

UPDATE: According to the Huff Post, the development of the app began in this past November. The incompetence of the people in charge of the Iowa caucus is mind boggling.

[W_HAMILTON]

1. WHY THE FUCK WAS AN APP NEEDED TO BEGIN WITH?

Use a website!

Use email!

Use a phone!

Hell, use a fax!

Why the fuck develop a completely new app from the ground-up just for a one-off specific purpose? We don't need apps to do every goddamn little thing.

[herding cats]

4. They're faster and take less people to process results.

It's a numbers game.

[W_HAMILTON]

6. Clearly not.

[herding cats]

13. I should have added the caveat: in theory.

Obviously not in this application!

[Retrograde]

5. But phones are soooo 19th century!

Why use some old tech your grandparents used when you can spend $$$ building a new, shiny app that will only be used once?

[stopdiggin]

8. website, phone, email, fax

and all of these are so super secure ....

Step back and listen to yourself. What have we be criticizing and debating (ad nauseam) the past few years?

[W_HAMILTON]

9. And an app is any better?

Even with hand-counted ballots and a paper trail, they still get reported through those means that I mentioned.

[stopdiggin]

16. yes. handled properly, an app can be severe times more secure than a phone call

and the reporting you mentioned through these alternate methods was for redundancy and double checking.

Plus .. the gold standard of hand marked paper ballots that are physically retained for possible recount ...

But .. go ahead. Outrage and innuendo .. that'll save the day!

[W_HAMILTON]

34. Bullshit.

How do you think the votes from all those voting precincts are reported to the state to get tallied in the final results in a normal statewide election? Through telepathy?

[stopdiggin]

36. you're correct in that

Previously we have used "old school" without real problems and I don't think "security" is really a large issue here. Unfortunately that puts me (and perhaps you?) in a real minority. We have entered an age where trust is almost nonexistent (and, sadly, beyond the grasp a lot of people). Even though the target here is a bunch of retirees, schoolteachers and soybean farmers milling around in a church basement .. "we must insist on a secure and verifiable system." If you've read further you will have seen that a lot of the push toward "upgrades and security" .. were foisted upon the state by "outside concerns." (By which you are suppose to read the DNC and certain elements in previous campaigns.)

And finally, can an app be more secure and trustworthy? Yes, it can. Was an app necessary under these circumstances? Doubtful. Was it employed without adequate oversight and training. Clearly.

[pnwmom]

25. Because Bernie pushed for this change after 2016. They didn't like the old system --

which, like all caucuses, wasn't great. The Bernie team wanted results reported out in all three stages, and I guess they wanted the APP for that.

But it made everything much worse.

[floppyboo]

2. I heard reports of it not working and tonight I heard Pete's campaign helped pay for app

The intercept, which I am not sure is safe to mention on this site, is reporting that the app developed by 'Shadow' was paid for by the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and Pete's campaign.

No wonder Joe's lawyer is hoppin mad!

[herding cats]

12. Omg. Nutty conspiracy theories abound.

Please, explain to me how Buttigieg's campaign had any hand in the pittance 50k Iowa paid for this app? Iowa bargain basement shopped and got what they paid for.

[Ghost Dog]

27. Apparently the information is provided by the FEC. Nt

[ehrnst]

31. The Intercept is ALL OVER this site...

"not safe..."

No need for such drama.

[HarlanPepper]

3. As a layman

This situation feels like something that’s probably been plagued with problems behind the scenes throughout its development.

[JoeOtterbein]

7. Why the F... do we need an "app" to count a few thousand votes?

Sigh.

[stopdiggin]

11. not 'counting" ... "reporting"

and the "reporting" part is a little important .. because we have been steadily criticizing election security for how long ..? see #8

[herding cats]

10. I just heard they paid only 50K total for the app.

That's not even close to top tier. Also, it's confirmed it was installed on private phones. Which we all know need more layers of protection.

Apparently, Nevada has the same app from the same company. Seriously, I'm not making this up.

[Raine]

21. Sounds like they went on the cheap

some never learn you get what you pay for.

[msongs]

14. apps. sounds like a millenials thing lol nt

[jg10003]

17. millenials have a name for people like me; Grandpa.

[TheBlackAdder]

15. Open-Source Software--You get what you pay for. Almost all not reviewed, and many done by hackers.

.

There's a fallacy that open-source software is more secure because it is reviewed by others.

In reality, no one really reviews it besides academia, nation states and hackers. They do not have to disassemble the code because the source is given to them to exploit. On top of that, many of the open-source groups are infiltrated with hackers and nation state developers to inject rogue code or malware.

As an example: Many companies are moving to this Spring Open Development platform, because it's free. It's also rife with hundreds of vulnerabilities.

While an app might be custom built, it is often done using widgets, plug-ins, or code development tools that are laced with vulnerabilities that open the application up to remote access, injection, takeover, or updating of data.

=======


Read the following article and then travel to Sonatype, register and get the free download of the report.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/25/open_source_security/

Just search: SONATYPE OPEN SOURCE SECURITY

.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

20. So in the day and age of Russian hackers they're using an open source app

[Quixote1818]

18. Large scale simulation? We are talking about a few hundred precincts

This amount of data would take any regular computer a few seconds to process. This is just simple adding and subtracting that would add up to perhaps a few hundred thousand votes etc.

Am I missing something?

[jg10003]

19. A simulation that would include the same number and types of data sources as the actual implantation

[SemiHalfling]

22. I was also listening to the coverage...

Heard they were basically trying to sideload a custom APK on Androids. Ouch. I played around with those years ago but *if* they wanted to be serious about an app the *least* they could do is buy a bunch of dedicated phones/tablets and run them though their respective enterprise management suites that allow for proper in-house app deployment. Better yet use iPhones and iPads since Apple has a pretty decent management interface and doesn’t have a business model of selling your info like Google. Not like it would be that expensive either compared to what they charged for the development.

And I still wouldn’t really want that if I were managing this and wanted airtight security (See the above procedural questions posed by jg10003)

Just my 2 cents.

[Bear Creek]

24. So now what

Gerard Niemira, a veteran of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, is the head of Shadow. He previously served as chief technology officer and chief operating officer of ACRONYM, according to his LinkedIn page. In 2019, David Plouffe, one of the chief architects of President Barack Obama’s wins, joined the board of advisers for ACRONYM.

I wonder if there has not been interferences. With people from both Hillary and Barack behind the app's development.
Need to make sure the count is right. Then check to see what went wrong. I think this is suspicious.

[obamanut2012]

28. Just stop it with the weird HRC/Obama CTs

wtaf people.

[Bear Creek]

37. Sorry

Facts are facts. Russia has now been identified as being actively interfering.

[rockfordfile]

30. BS cut off the Russian/right-wing propaganda.

[Bradical79]

26. It's a sad joke

I don't understand it either. 4 years to figure it out, and this is what they ended up with. It's not a terribly complex process, it's just about being thorough and not procastinating until a couple months before go time like a dumbass.

[Blues Heron]

29. Soooo tired of Apps

fiddly little apps

[Amimnoch]

32. A spreadsheet in shrepoint could have done a better job of this..

really sad.

[squirecam]

33. Paper ballots

Worked in the last few centuries.

[stopdiggin]

35. they ARE using paper ballots (nt)