By JOHN SCHWARTZ
September 25, 2003
Electronic voting machine technology used nationwide is "at high risk of
compromise" because of software flaws that could make them vulnerable to
computer hackers and voting fraud, according to a review released
yesterday. The report also said, though, that proper safeguards could
help to mitigate the risk.
The new report, the second concerning voting machines from Diebold
Election Systems, was conducted for the state of Maryland after
researchers warned this summer that the Diebold AccuVote-TS voting
machines, more than 33,000 of which are used in 38 states, may be
vulnerable to manipulation. Maryland is adopting the machines for
elections.
Diebold executives and Maryland officials said the report vindicated
their view that the machines could be used reliably.
The new report, said Mark Radke, a Diebold executive, "really
confirms our stance that our equipment is as secure, if not more secure,
than any other electronic system in the marketplace." The company is
working to improve the security even further, he added.
In a letter yesterday, James C. DiPaula, secretary of the state's
Department of Management and Budget, recommended to Gov. Robert L.
Ehrlich Jr. that the state advance a plan which he said "will correct
specific risk factors and ensure reliability of the election process."
The earlier study, released in July, said Diebold software contained
numerous security gaps that could be exploited to let people vote many
times or to change votes after the fact. Aviel D. Rubin, a computer
security researcher, and colleagues analyzed Diebold source codes that
had been leaked to the Internet by critics of electronic voting systems.
Yesterday's report, by the Science Applications International
Corporation, said that Mr. Rubin's conclusions about the company's
software were "technically correct," but that the researchers "did not
have a complete understanding" of Maryland's use of the system.
In an interview yesterday, Mr. Rubin said he was mystified to see
that the state planned to use Diebold machines despite the report.
"It almost seems as though the people writing the Maryland action
plan either did not read or did not understand the S.A.I.C. report," he
said. "What they should say is, `We're going to put these systems on
hold until they say that these things are safe to use.' "
James T. Smith, the Baltimore County executive, who has opposed the
move to electronic voting, said the new report should stop the state
from using the machines.
"For two years, Baltimore County has warned, `Iceberg ahead!' and now
independent experts have warned that it's a gigantic iceberg," Mr. Smith
said. "Maryland should not say, `Damn the iceberg, full speed ahead.' "
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