Skip to main content

Researchers hack e-voting machine, similar to 2012 Election Day machines

Voting machines that could be used by up to a quarter of the US electorate on Election Day next year can be hacked, says a group of computer science and security experts at the Vulnerability Assessment Team at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. In fact, they’re not only saying it. They’ve done it.

A Salon report says that the hack can be performed “with just $10.50 in parts and an 8th grade science education.” Even more alarming, it’s believed that the hack, which could alter voting results, can be carried out without any trace of tampering having occurred.

The leader of the assessment team, Roger Johnston, said they believed such attacks were possible on a number of e-voting machines.

The hack was performed by the team on a Diebold voting machine, though two years ago the same group also managed a similar hack on a Sequoia e-voting machine.

The hack is performed by inserting a cheap electronic device into the e-voting machine. The device allows the machine to be controlled via a remote control unit at a distance of up to half a mile. The device could be put inside machines while they’re in storage prior to an election.

When the voter makes their selection and presses the Vote Now button, the person with the remote control can intercept and change the vote.

A member of the assessment team, John Warner, explained how carrying out the hack costs next to nothing. “The cost of the attack…..was $10.50 in retail quantities. If you want to use the RF [radio frequency] remote control to stop and start the attacks, that’s another $15. So the total cost would be $26.”

Despite the concerns raised by the team, touch-screen Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines, or something similar, are scheduled to be used on Election Day in the US next year .

Sean Flaherty, a policy analyst for VerifiedVoting.org, a nonpartisan e-voting watchdog group, said that nearly all voters in states such as Georgia, Maryland, Utah and Nevada, as well as the majority of voters in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Texas, will vote using DREs on November 6, 2012. Voters in cities such as Houston, Atlanta, Chicago and Pittsburgh will also use them.

Johnston, the leader of the assessment team, told Salon: “The machines themselves need to be designed better, with the idea that people may be trying to get into them. If you’re just thinking about the fact that someone can try to get in, you can design the seals better, for example.”

He added: “This is a national security issue. It should really be handled by the Department of Homeland Security.”

[Image courtesy of fantazista / Shutterstock]

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Meet the game-changing pitching robot that can perfectly mimic any human throw
baseball hitter swings and misses

Who’s your favorite baseball pitcher? Shane McClanahan? Sandy Alcantara? Justin Verlander? Whoever you said, two of the top sports-tech companies in the U.S. -- Rapsodo and Trajekt Sports -- have teamed up to build a robot version of them, and the results are reportedly uncannily accurate.

Okay, so we’re not talking about walking-talking-pitching standalone robots, as great a sci-fi-tinged MLB ad as that would be. However, Rapsodo and Trajekt have combined their considerable powers to throw a slew of different technologies at the problem of building a machine that's able to accurately simulate the pitching style of whichever player you want to practice batting against -- and they may just have pulled it off, too.

Read more
The best portable power stations
EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Read more
CES 2023: HD Hyundai’s Avikus is an A.I. for autonomous boat and marine navigation
Demonstration of NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

This content was produced in partnership with HD Hyundai.
Autonomous vehicle navigation technology is certainly nothing new and has been in the works for the better part of a decade at this point. But one of the most common forms we see and hear about is the type used to control steering in road-based vehicles. That's not the only place where technology can make a huge difference. Autonomous driving systems can offer incredible benefits to boats and marine vehicles, too, which is precisely why HD Hyundai has unveiled its Avikus AI technology -- for marine and watercraft vehicles.

More recently, HD Hyundai participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, to demo its NeuBoat level 2 autonomous navigation system for recreational boats. The name mashes together the words "neuron" and "boat" and is quite fitting since the Avikus' A.I. navigation tech is a core component of the solution, it will handle self-recognition, real-time decisions, and controls when on the water. Of course, there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes with HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation solution, which we'll dive into below -- HD Hyundai will also be introducing more about the tech at CES 2023.

Read more