Electronic Voting Machine: Excellent tool of manipulation

by News Desk
December 17, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1993/electronic-voting-machine-excellent-tool

According to expert findings, election results can easily be manipulated with the use of Electronic Voting Machine [EVM]. Computer scientists have demonstrated how criminals could hack an EVM and 'steal' votes using a malicious programming approach that had not been invented when the voting machine was designed. The team of scientists from the Universities of California, San Diego, Michigan and Princeton employed 'return-oriented programming' to force an electronic voting machine to turn against itself. Experts have even shown on video as to how electronic voting machine results can be easily manipulated by the hackers.

In 2010, leader of Janata Party, Dr. Subramaniam Swami quoting Election Commission of India said, "EVMs can be easily rigged to favor one political party or another."

Leader of Indian National Congress Sonia Gandhi reportedly hired hackers to hack into election results of the electronic voting machines, which resulted in landslide victory of the Indian National Congress in the national elections. Since 2010, a group of influential figures of Bangladesh Awami League [BAL] are actively working to made specific arrangements with notorious EVM hackers in India in using their services for manipulating various election results in Bangladesh, where electronic voting machines will be used. It is learnt from various sources that the ruling party in Bangladesh is planning to bring at least 88 per cent of the total voters under EVM system to ensure the re-election of Bangladesh Awami League during the election in 2014. This group of "election planners" of the ruling party has already contacted a number of leading EVM hackers in India, including the most infamous "Cyber Army". According to unconfirmed sources, the ruling party influential figures from Bangladesh are already bargaining a "package deal" with the Indian hackers in ensuring a massive victory and re-election of Bangladesh Awami League during the election in 2014 in exchange of a huge amount of money. Initially, the Indian hackers demanded US$ 1 billion for this service; while the figure has already been brought down to US$ 400 million and the ruling party men are optimistic of getting even a cheaper deal with the Indian hackers. Once the deal will be successfully concluded, there will be visibly no way in stopping the ruling party from getting re-elected in the election of 2014. Some say, the efficacy of the hacking of EVM were demonstrated during the recently concluded election of Narayanganj City Corporation.

Commenting on the EVM, an expert said, "The Detachable Memory Modules [DMM] is a small part of the EVM which contains election results. But it is detachable from the machine. So, it is risky as the election result can be destroyed, tampered with or even replaced. So, the results can be very easily manipulated by replacing the DMM. After the elections, EVMs are stored under high security, even candidates are not allowed onto the premises to check if transparency is being maintained, which actually should be their right. Japan and many other European countries across the world have discontinued the use of EVMs. In America, EVMs have been heavily criticised and now, states give states the option of using ballot boxes or EVMs."

EVMs used in the state have memory modules that can be detached. This means anyone who wishes to manipulate election results simply has to replace the chip [DMM] in the machine. Though EVMs with inbuilt memory can be compromised too, it requires a computer expert to tamper with the data.

Vetoed around the world:

1. Ireland abandoned e-voting in 2006.

2. In April 2004, California banned 14,000 EVMs.

3. In Germany, EVMs were declared unconstitutional in March 2009.

4. In the Netherlands, in 2006, licenses of 1,187 EVMs were withdrawn after citizen group 'We do not trust voting machines' showed they could hack into EVMs in 5 minutes from up to 40 metres without the knowledge of voters or election officials.

5. Supreme Court of Finland declared the result of pilot electronic voting machines invalid in the municipal corporation elections of 2009.

Electronic Voting Machines [EVM]s are easy to hack into. There is proof. Team of researchers used a machine from the state to demonstrate two ways in which the results could have been rigged.

Researchers, showed precisely how a display component could be replaced with a fake substitute programmed to steal a percentage of the votes in favour of a chosen candidate. They also exposed how stored votes could be changed between the election and the public counting session, which in say, in India, can be weeks later, with a pocket-sized device.

The team, comprising Hyderabad-based NetIndia, Dr J Alex Halderman, professor & noted expert on electronic voting security from the University of Michigan and Holland-based security expert Rop Gonggrijp, was instrumental in the ban on EVMs in the Netherlands.

NetIndia Managing Director had earlier demonstrated how the instrument could be tampered with, but could prove this only theoretically as Election Commission did not provide him with a real EVM. "This time, we got hold of real EVM," said Prasad. He was vocal about the vulnerability of EVMs even as the chief election commission vouched for their 'infallibility'.

Indian EVMs record votes only onto the internal memory of the system. There are no paper records that allow for inspection or recount. In fact, the vote-counting software in the EVMs is programmed to not allow the software to be read out and verified. "Since these chips are made in the US and Japan, this has led to a situation where nobody in India knows for sure what software is in these machines or whether it counts votes accurately," reads the report.

Attack One:

A small display component of the machine can be replaced with an identical component. This component can be programmed to steal a percentage of the votes in favour of a chosen candidate. Signals to activate the program can be transmitted from by using a mere mobile phone. Result of voting is displayed on LED segments. There's a 3-mm gap between segments. That's where a chip can be loaded. This chip can be connected wireless to mobile phone." If a miscreant manages to place a chip, a signal from a micro-controller will control what is displayed on the screen.

Attack Two:

Votes stored in the EVM between the election and the public counting session can be changed by using a specially made pocket-sized device. When you open the machine, you find micro-controllers, under which are electrically enabled programs, with 'read-only' memory. It is used only for storage. However, Prasad warns, "You can read and write memory from an external interface. We have developed a small clip with a chip on the top to read votes inside the memory and manipulate the data by swapping the vote from one candidate to another."

Reasoning the need to demonstrate he says, "We are not questioning the system of checks and balances. Our intention is only to highlight that EVMs are vulnerable and have even been banned in countries like the Netherlands."

Maharashtra State Chief Electoral Officer said he was aware of the issue. "We know that such claims are being made. It is a matter of inspection. We will decide what is to be done after investigations."

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