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Electronic Voting Systems

Diana Lopez Varun Sehgal Michael Chua. Electronic Voting Systems. Presentation Outline. Introduction : What is e-voting? Problem / Controversy Security Issues Social Issues Conclusion Proposed Solutions Research Thesis. What is E-Voting?.

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Electronic Voting Systems

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  1. Diana Lopez Varun Sehgal Michael Chua Electronic Voting Systems

  2. Presentation Outline Introduction: What is e-voting? Problem / Controversy Security Issues Social Issues Conclusion Proposed Solutions Research Thesis

  3. What is E-Voting? • E-voting is an election system that allows a voter to record his or her secure and secret ballot electronically.

  4. DRE Voting System A DRE machine directly records the voter’s selections in each contest, using a ballot that appears on a display screen.

  5. Evolution of DREs They are divided into 3 types: Similar to lever machines Display type Display type using touch screen

  6. Controversies & Problems • Voter & Data Privacy/Security • System Vulnerable to Intrusion • Software Intrusion • Hardware Intrusion • No Verifiable Paper Trail

  7. Security Issues of DREs Attacks Divided into 2 groups: Vote Tampering Multi-Cast Vote Stealing Denial-of-Service Denied Access Spoiled Data

  8. Security Issues of DREs (cont.) Common Exploits in Attack Patterns Smartcard/Memory Card Improper Handling/Securing of Data Poor System Design

  9. Vote Tampering • Gaining Access to the Machine • Duplicated or Stolen Smartcard • Reprogramming Flash Memory • Memory Card • Learn Protocol or Code Injection • Reverse Engineering Protocol • Computer Virus or Buffer Overflow

  10. Denial-of-Service • Gaining Access to the Machine • Same as vote tampering • Crash System • Time/Date program trigger • Corrupt Vote Data • Same techniques as vote tampering

  11. Social Issues of E-Voting Why is it important? It is equally important as the technical side. Social aspects of e-voting is important because if in any election the machines do get hacked, they could trigger the elections and the outcome. It is the way society thinks about e-voting. People have started to be aware about the problem.

  12. Social Issues of E-Voting (cont.) Countries that use electronic voting machines: - USA, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Netherlands, India, Brazil, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Ireland, Estonia, Canada, Belgium, Austria.

  13. Social Issues of E-Voting (cont.) Since so many countries have invested into e-voting, they are hesitant to drop it and go back to paper ballots. It’s becoming more and more popular. It is the direction we are heading to.

  14. Possible Solutions Some theoretical solutions. Use open-source software Use voter-verifiable paper ballot Encrypted votes Parallel testing Legislation

  15. Use Open-Source Software • Some experts believe that the code should be available for public inspection. • It will undergo thorough inspection. • Maybe, some security flaws can be fixed by this method.

  16. Voter-Verifiable Paper Ballot • The computer would print a paper ballot. • Voter would then verify that the ballot accurately reflected the voter’s choice made on the DRE machine. • This way, no votes will be improperly changed. • Disadvantage: “Show your receipt that you voted for X candidate, and here is your free gift.”

  17. Encrypted Votes • Votes will be independently recorded on an independent machine other than the DRE. • This way a recount can be done to make sure the votes recorded on the DRE were accurate or not. • The recount will be faster than the paper ballot verification.

  18. Parallel Testing • Parallel testing is when election officials take some DRE machines and set them aside during an election. • All day, they cast votes simultaneously and at the end of the day, they tally their votes.

  19. Legislation • Funding for research to improve DRE machines. • Adding more requirements for the DRE machines in order for it to be used in elections. • Legislative solution may be more useful if controversy is not resolved by other means.

  20. Our Own Solution Because everything is so secret, no one really knows how they are implementing the solutions. Since it is theoretical, there really isn’t a significant solution to the problem. OUR SOLUTION is to use the seven touchpoints of software security.

  21. Conclusion Should e-voting be used or not? There are many advantages to e-voting but the problems with the systems overrule the advantages. E-voting machines are unreliable. Even with all the security problems there is a growing trend among countries to invest more into e-voting machines.

  22. Conclusion Ireland – Stopped using them unless machines are upgraded. France – considering. This could also be a trend about to begin. Countries might start going back to paper ballots. UNLESS WE FIX THE PROBLEMS RELATED TO E-VOTING MACHINES!

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