DC voting computers hacked

[Guest guest]

Yet another example of rushing into the wired world without thinking of the consequences. Just think how much fun this next election and 2012 is going to be with so much of the voting wired into net. Just because a handful of people are too stupid to even handle paper ballots its going digital. So much easier to fool with and not leave traces.

Quote from article.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/debonis/2010/10/hacker_infiltration_ends_dc_on.html

Hacker infiltration ends D.C. online voting trial

Last week, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics opened a new Internet-based voting system for a weeklong test period, inviting computer experts from all corners to prod its vulnerabilities in the spirit of "give it your best shot." Well, the hackers gave it their best shot -- and midday Friday, the trial period was suspended, with the board citing "usability issues brought to our attention."

Here's one of those issues: After casting a vote, according to test observers, the Web site played "Hail to the Victors" -- the University of Michigan fight song.

"The integrity of the system had been violated," said Stenbjorn, the board's chief technology officer.

Stenbjorn said a Michigan professor whom the board has been working with on the project had "unleashed his students" during the test period, and one succeeded in infiltrating the system.

The fight song is a symptom of deeper vulnerabilities, says Epstein, a computer scientist working with the Common Cause good-government nonprofit on online voting issues. "In order to do that, they had to be able to change anything they wanted on the Web site," Epstein said.