Pentagon Restricts Overseas Voters

[Mobius]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=536&e=11&u=/ap/20040921/ap_on_bi_ge/france_us_overseas_voters



The problem concerns blocks placed on access to the Web site of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, a Defense Department division to help expatriate American voters, including servicemen and women. The site's address is www.fvap.gov.


In an e-mail, a site Web manager, Susan Leader, said access is being refused to some Internet service providers that were used by hackers to attack U.S. government


SNIP

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke confirmed that some ISPs which have been used to launch attacks are barred access to military .mil and .gov sites. But she said the blocks were not related to the election nor designed to silence Democrat voting abroad — as some of them suspect.


"It would stop the Republicans, too, right? It's both sides. We're not just letting a certain party through," Krenke said.


well who the fuck is gonna vote for bush that is overseas? :puke: Why do I even look at the news anymore?

[LTR]

1. You mean to tell me our govenment can't even secure a COMPUTER???

My system is armed to the teeth, and I challenge any hacker to bust into it. I'm running Windows and have an always-on broadband connection.

The government that's supposed to protect us from terrorists can't even secure a computer or bank of servers? You have GOT to be kidding me!

(NOTE: I posted this yesterday on a similar thread, and it does bring up an interesting point)

[Carla in Ca]

3. I read last night that

F911 is being shown to our soldiers in Iraq and a lot of them are going to vote for Kerry.

[SotarrTheWizard]

4. Well. . .your FIRST problem. . . .

. . . is you're running Windows. From a security standpoint, it just can't be secured.

Secondly, define "armed to the teeth". I keep AVG up, on a 12-hour update cycle, as well as SpyBot and SpyBlaster, and the Cleaner for trojans ans worms. . .behind a hardware firewall. And Windows Update checked every morning before going to work. . .

And I still, theoretically, can get hacked.

You want a SECURE computer, the first thing you must do is disconnect it from the Net. . .entirely.

So what you REALLY mean to say is "My system is reasonably secure, about as good as it gets with Windows. . .

Now, that being said. . . I don't see the real problem here. You run a web-enabled or net-based app, you're assuming a risk. There is NO SUCH THING as perfect security on the 'net. And the more secure a system, the tougher it is to use, and the less likely that casual users will access it.

Lastly. . . Defense built the site so GI's and their families stationed overseas can vote. If you're not DOD, call the American Embassy or the local consulate for help voting. Not EVERYTHING needs to be on the Net. . . .

[Supersedeas]

2. Votes are not related to * elections...TY Lt Col Krenke