With time short, judge mulls Georgia voting system changes
October 7, 2020
Lawyers for the activists raised concerns about the severity of the problem and the security of a last-minute fix.
Dominion submitted the fix to a third-party laboratory, Pro V&V, for evaluation. A report from Pro V&V says the problem is not found in the new version of the software and the change was minor.
The election integrity activists submitted declarations from two computer science experts who reviewed the Pro V&V report. They said the evaluation was insufficient to verify the cause of the problem and the effectiveness of the solution.
The experts also said the report indicates multiple changes to the source code, meaning there’s a greater likelihood of unintended side effects and opening the door for hackers.
The Small World of Voting Machine Certification
An understaffed tiny federal agency and 2 private testing labs responsible for certification of nation’s voting systems
BY JEFF CARLSON November 20, 2020 Updated: November 20, 2020
EXCERPTS
Only 2 Certified Testers of Election Equipment
On the EAC website, there are seven Voting System Test Laboratories (VSTL) listed. However, only two of these testing labs, Pro V&V and SLI Compliance, are listed on the page as accredited, as the others are listed as having their accreditation expired.
From early 2017 on, these two companies are the only testing labs to have provided voting system certification according to a listing of certifications by the EAC.
For one of the two companies used, Pro V&V, the EAC fails to publicly provide the accreditation certificate on its website, instead linking to a page giving a “page could not be found” warning.
The latest certificate listed for Pro V&V on the company’s profile overview on the EAC website has an issue date of Feb. 24, 2015 and is effective through Feb. 24, 2017. It is unclear if the company’s accreditation is truly expired or if the fault lies with the EAC website.
Despite being responsible for the testing and data used in the certification of entire voting systems, including that of Dominion’s recently certified “Democracy Suite (D-Suite) 5.5-C Voting System (Pro V&V Test Report June 16, 2020), while simultaneously providing system testing across the nation, Pro V&V has only a single office listed, located in a business suite, that is supported by a surprisingly crude and sparse website.
The website description of Pro V&V’s facilities omits the “Suite” portion of their address while claiming their “office and laboratory layouts allow ample space for test equipment, software, and hardware used in the testing process.” Their site also claims they have the option of expanding into additional space within the same complex.
Pro V&V, like Dominion Voting and Smartmatic, is a member of CISA’s Sector Coordinating Council, the same council that recently issued the joint statement on the 2020 presidential election. The other primary testing lab, SLI Compliance, is also a member of the same council.
(snip)
On Oct. 1, a Zoom court hearing took place and a transcript of that hearing was made. During the call, Dr. Coomer from Dominion came into the Zoom meeting. Although no first name was provided, it appears to refer to Dr. Eric Coomer, director of Product Strategy and Security for Dominion Voting Systems.
Coomer told the Court it was his belief the software change “was de minimis,” but stated that Dominion did not make that determination but instead “submit that change to an accredited laboratory, in this case Pro V&V. They analyze the change. They look at the code. And they determine whether it is de minimis or not.”
Later during the hearing, Coomer was asked if he knew whom at Pro V&V was performing the software testing. Coomer said he did not and noted “I don’t know the makeup of Pro V&V’s employees.”
This statement from Coomer strikes as somewhat odd given that only three employees of Pro V&V have been located in reviewed documents; Jack Cobb, Michael Walker, and Wendy Owens. It was Owens and Walker who performed the Nov. 26, 2019 Testing for the Certification of Dominion Voting Systems Democracy Suite 5.5-A and it was these same two individuals who provided the April 13, 2020 and June 16, 2020 Testing of Dominion’s Democracy Suite 5.5-C. Additionally, Pro V&V and Dominion are both members of the same CISA council.
(snip)
She also noted that Jack Cobb, the director of Pro V&V, “plainly indicated that he actually claims no specialized knowledge or background in cybersecurity engineering and did not himself perform any security risk analysis of the BMD [Ballot Marking Device] system.” Instead, “State Defendants relied on Dr. Coomer’s testimony, to address—based on his professional experience—some of the significant cybersecurity issues raised by Plaintiffs.”
https://www.bizapedia.com/al/pro-v-v-inc.html
https://www.bizapedia.com/people/jack-cobb.html
https://www.bizapedia.com/people/ryan-cobb.html
https://www.bizapedia.com/nh/pro-v-and-v-inc.html
PRO V & V, INC.
New Hampshire Foreign Profit Corporation
Company Name: PRO V & V, INC.
File Number: 775099
Filing State: New Hampshire (NH)
Domestic State: Alabama (AL)
Filing Status: Good Standing
Filing Date: September 20, 2011
DIANE GRAY
Treasurer
Map Icon spacer 700 Boulevard South
Suite 102
Huntsville, AL 35802
JACK COBB
President
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Suite 102
Huntsville, AL 35802
WENDY OWENS
Secretary
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Suite 102
Huntsville, AL 35802