Election Day concerns
As Election Day nears, more than 15 million voters expressed concerns about the security of the U.S. voting system, according to a recent study conducted by [link url=”https://www.carbonblack.com/2016/09/29/democracy-at-risk-more-than-15-million-voters-may-stay-home-on-election-day-over-cyber-security-doubts/” title=”Carbon Black”].
Though there are no indications of compromised or tampered-with technology in previous elections, a number of other incidents show that influencing or altering this year’s election is a very real possibility. Recent hacks against the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and election databases solidify these fears.
Voters losing faith
The [link url=”https://www.carbonblack.com/2016/09/29/democracy-at-risk-more-than-15-million-voters-may-stay-home-on-election-day-over-cyber-security-doubts/” title=”study”] found that more than half, 56 percent, of U.S. voters have concerns that a cyber attack will affect their vote at this year’s presidential election.
These fears amplify when voters use electronic voting machines, as the study showed 58 percent of voters feel these types of machines will be hacked at some point during the election season. The study also revealed that nearly 25 percent of the United States will use electronic voting machines on November 8, when the next president will be elected. This places about 55 million voters at the potential risk of cyber attacks.
Vulnerabilities in the system
The biggest reason for these vulnerabilities is the use of outdated systems. The biggest culprit is perhaps the “direct-recording electronic” (DRE) machine, which is still utilizes the Windows XP operating system. According to the study, there has not been a patch pushed out to this operating systems since April of 2014.
Results of the study also indicated three other major vulnerabilities:
- The [link url=”http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/2016-elections-russia-hack-how-to-hack-an-election-in-seven-minutes-214144″ title=”ease:] of which electronic voting machines can be manipulated to alter votes.
- The ability to [link url=”http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/state-election-systems-hacked-227500″ title=”compromise”] voter-registration databases.
- The prospect that voting systems and process can be shut down, delayed or restricted.
These identified vulnerabilities potentially place the trust of the country’s democracy at risk. According to Carbon Black, 1 in 5 voters may not vote in this upcoming election. This means that more than 15 million voters may choose against going to the polls on Election Day.
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