Seems that now, more than ever, we found ourselves in a situation where the outcome of a Democratic election could be manipulated by external actors — or at least we are very worried that it is a possibility. We know for a fact that various sorts and levels of cultural propaganda have been tried for many decades, but it has never been as powerful as it has been since the advent of the Internet and social media. At this point, we know that not only is it possible; it is also a fact.
Seems that now, more than ever, we found ourselves in a situation where the outcome of a Democratic election could be manipulated by external actors — or at least we are very worried that it is a possibility. We know for a fact that various sorts and levels of cultural propaganda have been tried for many decades, but it has never been as powerful as it has been since the advent of the Internet and social media. At this point, we know that not only is it possible; it is also a fact.
But what about physical alteration or intervention on the actual voting systems that take place inside a country? Is that something we need to worry about? Yes.
Has it happened before? Probably not.
Could an electronic system be hacked by internal or external players? Yes, of course.
Does an electronic vote made via the Internet amplify this risk? Yes.
Do we need to stick to paper ballots? Probably.
Should we - despite our technology - go back to the pebbles voting system used by the early Democracies of the Ancient Greek? Maybe not.
But, for now, we should stick with paper and any means that allows us to audit to ensure that we know that what we count is what the majority of the citizens actually wanted -- and for which they cast their vote.
How we got here... well, that is another story.
Listen to this podcast we had with Christopher Krebs, Director at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as he discusses his session at Black Hat 2020 Virtual Edition; and so much more.
Guest(s)
CISA Director, Christopher Krebs
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