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Diebold thrown out of Florida by hacker
The Inquirer (A UK Tech Journal) ^ | December 20, 2005 | Nick Farrell

Posted on 12/20/2005 9:28:57 AM PST by ConservativeMind

A FINNISH security expert has proved to the supervisor of elections in Leon County Florida that it is a doddle to hack Diebold voting machines.

Harri Hursti took part in a fake election in Leon County using what Diebold calls unhackable technology.

At the beginning of the test election the memory card programmed by Harri Hursti was inserted into an Optical Scan Diebold voting machine. Hursti had pre-loaded the memory card with plus and minus votes.

The eight ballots were run through the optical scan machine. Correct results should have been: Yes:2 ; No:6 However, just as Hursti had planned, the results tape read: Yes:7 ; No:1

To be fair to Diebold, the Hursti Hack requires a moderate level of inside access, however it does not require a password and it is the same level of access given thousands of poll workers across the USA.

More here.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: diebold; electronicvoting; evoting; harrihursti; hursti
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To: bmwcyle
We will screw around until the only safe way will be implanted chips.

Cool! I can send my dog to the polling place. He's already chipped...

21 posted on 12/20/2005 9:56:07 AM PST by Publius6961 (The IQ of California voters is about 420........... .............cumulatively)
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To: ConservativeMind

as I have said before, and will say again - he who programs the machines decides the election.

paper ballots and purple fingers, please - it's simpler and harder to fake.


22 posted on 12/20/2005 9:56:58 AM PST by camle (keep your mind open and somebody will fill it full of something for you.)
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To: Publius6961

He can only vote with the dead.


23 posted on 12/20/2005 9:57:36 AM PST by bmwcyle (Evolution is a myth -- Libertarians just won't evolve into Conservatives.)
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To: bmwcyle
We will screw around until the only safe way will be implanted chips.

Till someone hacks my chip.

Hey, that sounds like a good excuse:

"I'm sorry about eating the entire pound cake, honey. That Peterson kid must've hacked my chip again."

And so forth...

24 posted on 12/20/2005 10:04:59 AM PST by SquirrelKing
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To: Carry_Okie
I think your idea is best.

There are better ways among the current options. I believe Optical Scanning machines are best and can be independently audited to validate their accuracy.

However, the independent mechanisms in your proposal make it almost fool and cheat-proof.

Several on this thread have suggested that we should just ignore the issue, as every automatic means can be easily tampered with. I vehemently disagree.
25 posted on 12/20/2005 10:05:21 AM PST by ConservativeMind
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To: ConservativeMind
I've never understood why more states don't use the system we use here in Oklahoma. When arriving at the polling station, the individual's name is looked up on a computer printout of all the registered voters for that polling station. The individual signs next to his or her name. They are then given a ballot. On our ballots each candidate or question is followed by an arrow. The arrow is about 1 1/2 inches long with a gap in the middle of it. Each voter is given a special pen and makes his selection by connecting the two parts of the arrow with his pen. The ballots are then placed in a special box that tallies the votes electronically when they are inserted. The vote is taken electronically and you have a paper backup if needed. Its almost foolproof, even if you make a mistake. One year I accidentally connected the wrong arrow and voted for the wrong person. I then took the ballot to the poll workers, signed an affidavit that my ballot was marked in error. In my presence, the ballot was then marked so as to be voided and I was given a new ballot to vote on. Very simple, very efficient. In the 18 years I have lived in Oklahoma I have never heard of any election being contested because of a voting irregularity.
26 posted on 12/20/2005 10:05:38 AM PST by ops33 (Retired USAF Senior Master Sergeant)
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To: Ramius

I agree. That isn't "hacking". Even paper ballots can be "hacked" if this is what they call hacking. Anyone with access to the ballot box could scoop out half of the paper ballots and replace them with pre- prepared ones.
I say go with SS cards that have your info built into it like a bank card. When you vote, you swipe your SS card before you drop in your paper ballot, The person is automatically registered as having voted in a central data center. That way nobody can vote twice. An alarm would go off if someone tried to swipe twice.
No SS card? Too bad, non- citizens can't vote. Dead people and under age people can't vote.


27 posted on 12/20/2005 10:09:50 AM PST by Nathan Zachary
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To: ConservativeMind
I have to admit that I hadn't thought of purple fingers before the Iraq election, but it's a great idea.
28 posted on 12/20/2005 10:14:48 AM PST by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are REALLY stupid.)
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To: FOG724

Why is Diebold the only company that seems to be on the radar?
All of these companies should be put to the same scrutiny.
Are Sequoia or any of the others any better?
Personally, I'd like to see electronic voting go in the dumpster.


29 posted on 12/20/2005 10:18:32 AM PST by calcowgirl
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Comment #30 Removed by Moderator

To: Carry_Okie
I have to admit that I hadn't thought of purple fingers before the Iraq election, but it's a great idea.

It is, but the problem we have here in the US is all the absentee ballots.

31 posted on 12/20/2005 10:21:59 AM PST by pepperhead (Kennedy's float, Mary Jo's don't!)
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To: Carry_Okie

It is, in a normal society. But not this one. People will claim allergies and sue. They will complain that it can be washed off, or clashes with their wardrobe, is degrading somehow, making them feel like they aren't trusted, makes them feel like a criminal, etc etc.
There is no end to the bitching about anything and everything in this country, and democrats WILL bitch because they can't stand loosing.


32 posted on 12/20/2005 10:22:02 AM PST by Nathan Zachary
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To: calcowgirl
Why is Diebold the only company that seems to be on the radar?

They were in Ohio.

33 posted on 12/20/2005 10:23:34 AM PST by pepperhead (Kennedy's float, Mary Jo's don't!)
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To: smith288

I thought they hacked them to switch Bush votes to Kerry.

How else do you explain the election in Ohio being close ?

;-)


34 posted on 12/20/2005 10:23:43 AM PST by festus (The constitution may be flawed but its a whole lot better than what we have now.)
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To: ConservativeMind

It seems like a misnomer to describe this guy as a "hacker." He inserted a card directly into the machine. I think the article was deliberately slanted to cater to Dem paranoia and rumor-mongering about Diebold. Not that I'm a big fan of this kind of technology; I used punch-cards for 30 years and no one ever said they were unreliable.


35 posted on 12/20/2005 10:25:23 AM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: festus

Haliburton...Diebold...Walmart...Evil Incarnate


36 posted on 12/20/2005 10:25:56 AM PST by Wristpin ("The Yankees have decided to buy every player in Baseball....")
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To: ConservativeMind

You all are going about this the wrong way. Diebold hires temporary employees. Go through their temp company. As long as you have a pulse and can turn on a computer, you are in. Once you are there, you can virtually do anything you want.


37 posted on 12/20/2005 10:25:59 AM PST by Dacula
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To: ConservativeMind

An election official with similar access to ballot boxes could cause equivalent trouble.


38 posted on 12/20/2005 10:26:31 AM PST by AZLiberty (America is the hope of all men who believe in the principle of freedom and justice. - A. Einstein)
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To: pepperhead
"It is, but the problem we have here in the US is all the absentee ballots."

Not to mention that a lot of counties are going to all-mail voting. The old-fashioned polling place may one day be a thing of the past.
39 posted on 12/20/2005 10:27:12 AM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: Dacula

Are their ATMs this hackable? Diebold ATM machines handle $$BILLIONS$$ on a daily basis.


40 posted on 12/20/2005 10:30:07 AM PST by Wristpin ("The Yankees have decided to buy every player in Baseball....")
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