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An 11-year-old changed election results on a replica Florida state website in under 10 minutes
Newshour ^

Posted on 08/12/2018 3:49:52 PM PDT by ameribbean expat

The boy, who was identified by DEFCON officials as Emmett Brewer, accessed a replica of the Florida secretary of state’s website. He was one of about 50 children between the ages of 8 and 16 who were taking part in the so-called “DEFCON Voting Machine Hacking Village,” a portion of which allowed kids the chance to manipulate vote tallies, party names, candidate names and vote count totals.

(Excerpt) Read more at pbs.org ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Politics/Elections; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: ballottampering; electiontampering; secretaryofstate; voterfraud
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To: ameribbean expat

Time to outlaw 11 year olds!


21 posted on 08/12/2018 4:56:09 PM PDT by jaz.357 (Blithering Intellectual.)
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To: mrsmith

And in Florida the counties certify to the dept of state which posts results.


22 posted on 08/12/2018 4:57:17 PM PDT by ameribbean expat (Socialism is like a nude beach - - sounds great til you actually get there. -- David Burge.)
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To: ameribbean expat

Good thing 11 year-olds can’t vote.


23 posted on 08/12/2018 4:58:24 PM PDT by Rebelbase (Consensus isn't science.)
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To: ameribbean expat
I am reminded of Little Bobby Tables.


24 posted on 08/12/2018 4:59:44 PM PDT by cynwoody
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To: publius911

Not completely sure on this one. A bunch of computer hacks created a site that may, or may not, be authentic to what actually is out there, and under their guidance, with their knowledge of the weak and strong points of the language within the site, they directed some children to get into it. Yes they did use the term replica. But how sound is it when each state has used a lot of effort and funds to create a safe site? You’ll notice the validity of the sites protection was never discussed. They could easily have built doors into the site when they created them that they took advantage of without telling the media. It doesn’t take a real genius to create your own path and help someone else use it. Nor does it take a real idiot to get some air time for your organization to bag some more loonies.

rwood


25 posted on 08/12/2018 5:01:37 PM PDT by Redwood71
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To: cynwoody
When XKCD gets it right, it gets it right:


26 posted on 08/12/2018 5:02:00 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics.)
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To: yoe
What kind of voting machine were they using? Can the boy tamper with all voting machines?

He didn't hack a voting machine. He altered the vote totals on a replica of the secretary of state's website.

Assuming the replica is faithful, that means he could have hacked the real website, and, assuming the incorrect numbers went unnoticed, he could have stolen an election.

Optically scanned paper ballots should be used. That way, if doubts about the counts arise, the ballots can be quickly recounted.

27 posted on 08/12/2018 5:11:00 PM PDT by cynwoody
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To: Guenevere
As usual, this kind of story only shows the technical ignorance of journalists. If someone hacked a replica of the FLSOS website, did the replica have the same security as the real site? Impossible to tell because it wasn't covered by the author of this story. Even if it did, the site is displaying a summary of the results, not the raw count data itself.

The site merely displaying results is many levels away from the machine registers that actually tabulate votes in FL. Those machines are not connected to network of any type. They are standalone machines which merely tabulate the paper ballots run through them during the day on election day. The paper ballots are accumulated beneath the machine each day in boxes which are secured and stored in case a recount or audit is necessary.

Does that mean it is impossible to hack the registers? No, but nothing in the article suggests that what the child did was manipulation of the vote tabulation part of the process. Most journalist are pathetically ignorant of technology. They will report on a conference of hackers who are given access to a machine running some version of vote tabulation software and will produce some sort of story that says “See, it only too X [units of time] to hack the [insert name of state] voting system!” Except that, in FL the tabulating machine[s] in each precinct are connected by a power cord to an outlet and are in no way connected to anything else during the election. So, the simulated hack bears no resemblance to a real-world situation.

I have monitored 7 elections in Florida in 4 different counties since 2008 and have served as a GOP election lawyer in the 2008 and 2012 elections.

I am by no means suggesting that the elections process is secured because of world class security measures. It is secure because of the decentralized nature of it – and in many ways due to the primitive information technology (scanned paper) employed.

Any journalist who wants to write such stories should sign up to be an election day monitor at a polling place in FL and watch the process. It’s very tedious, but it will show them that the process has some significant safeguards in it. And none of these periodic “Aha! Voting systems hacked!” stories reflects that they know any of this before they write.

28 posted on 08/12/2018 5:13:00 PM PDT by Wally_Kalbacken
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To: max americana

“he’ll get a job with the Dems real soon.”

It was the dems that designed the machines and the websites. They know exactly what to do already. It is considered a built in capability. A normal function for them to be able to get in and change votes.


29 posted on 08/12/2018 5:14:07 PM PDT by Revel
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To: ameribbean expat

Time for nothing but paper ballots! Or, at least scanned paper ballots. No early voting! No vote by mail! No absentee voting unless you have a very good reason.


30 posted on 08/12/2018 5:54:22 PM PDT by Road Warrior ‘04 (Boycott The NFL! Molon Labe! Oathkeeper)
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To: ameribbean expat

If these kids can do it, the Chinese have already done it.


31 posted on 08/12/2018 5:54:39 PM PDT by UnwashedPeasant (Trump is fixing the world's problems just to distract us from Russia.)
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To: Skywise

My special needs son who doesn’t communicate much was able to be thrown out of Disney’s former ‘multiplayer” online game Toontown At age 7!!! I got the nasty letter telling the parents what he was up to, and I admit to nearly bursting with pride!!! He was a tiny little boy behind in every milestone and here he had found what he called a “glitch” in the game, found out how to make your character fly, and was teaching other kids how!!! He had groups of kids from all over the world “flying into the air” above the game’s village.

He was failing IQ tests at the time, showing up intellectually impaired. He does have deficits, but he has some gifts too! (later, in Club Penguin, he found out how to get all the moneys and buy all the stuff. His igloo looked like apts I have seen in bad neighborhoods, stuffed to the ceiling with ill gotten electronics. I admit also to being a little proud. He really does have morals and is a good kid but .... )


32 posted on 08/12/2018 6:01:39 PM PDT by Yaelle
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To: Redwood71

He hacked what. They put the system in his lap with all the code data and obviously also the results because that’s what the kid changed.


33 posted on 08/12/2018 6:06:12 PM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: AAABEST
"...Paper ballots are not secure either..."

There are apparently magic cars out there driven by leftists that can have ballots appear in the trunks on command!

34 posted on 08/12/2018 7:00:17 PM PDT by rlmorel (Leftists: They believe in the "Invisible Hand" only when it is guided by government.)
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To: Sacajaweau

“He hacked what.”

In my estimation he, with the help of the people that actually created the program possibly with loopholes in it, broke into a program that was set up for it. Like catching trout in a 50 gallon barrel while the owners of the barrel hand hooked the fish for him. Piece of cake. But it got the organization some ink so they can expand their club numbers with idiots that think they are getting something out of it.

rwood


35 posted on 08/12/2018 7:41:42 PM PDT by Redwood71
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To: ameribbean expat

Anything but a paper ballot is a gateway to vote fraud.


36 posted on 08/12/2018 8:00:52 PM PDT by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: ameribbean expat

Is he the Russian hacker Nelson has been babbling about?


37 posted on 08/13/2018 3:28:14 AM PDT by trebb (So many "experts" with so little experience in what they preach....even here...)
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To: ameribbean expat

Not surprised...


38 posted on 08/13/2018 4:00:40 AM PDT by no-to-illegals (..There is no difference between liberals/rinos/moslems/illegals/lamestream media ...)
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To: antidemoncrat

Paper ballots can be phonied as easily as machine ballots. Easier, actually.

The only thing that wil help is a change in people’s hearts. Satan isn’t going to let that happen.


39 posted on 08/13/2018 4:11:58 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (Have an A-1 day.)
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