Nomad2012
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Diebold Voting Maachine source Code Allowin g Open Access???
Can someone tell me their programming perspective on this article:
Dr. Avi Rubin is currently Professor of Computer Science at John Hopkins University. He "accidently"got his hands on a copy of the Diebold software program--Diebold's source code--which runs their e-voting machines.
Dr. Rubin's students pored over 48,609 lines of code that make up this software. One line in partictular stood out over all the rest:
#defineDESKEY((des_KEY8F26
All commercial programs have provisions to be encrypted so as to protect them from having their contents read or changed by anyone not having the key..The line that staggered the Hopkin's team was that the method used to encrypt the Diebold machines was a method called Digital Encryption Standard (DES), a code that was broken in 1997 and is NO LONGER USED by anyone to secure prograns.F2654hd4 was the key to the encryption. Moreover, because the KEY was IN the source code, all Diebold machines would respond to the same key. Unlock one, you have then ALL unlocked.
Dr. Avi Rubin is currently Professor of Computer Science at John Hopkins University. He "accidently"got his hands on a copy of the Diebold software program--Diebold's source code--which runs their e-voting machines.
Dr. Rubin's students pored over 48,609 lines of code that make up this software. One line in partictular stood out over all the rest:
#defineDESKEY((des_KEY8F26
All commercial programs have provisions to be encrypted so as to protect them from having their contents read or changed by anyone not having the key..The line that staggered the Hopkin's team was that the method used to encrypt the Diebold machines was a method called Digital Encryption Standard (DES), a code that was broken in 1997 and is NO LONGER USED by anyone to secure prograns.F2654hd4 was the key to the encryption. Moreover, because the KEY was IN the source code, all Diebold machines would respond to the same key. Unlock one, you have then ALL unlocked.
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The massive incompetence is not in using DES, but in using a fixed key to encrypt all communications rather than using, say, public-key crypto to give each machine its own unique key only known to that machine.
I can't disagree with that....
ASKER
I perosnally don't thiunk they made that by accident.
if not by accident, then 'cause someone decided to do it! which then forces the next question: why?
history still answred that too
LOL
history still answred that too
LOL
I bet halliburton had something to do with this.... I bet dick cheney wrote that code himself....
:-)
Hey, seriously, I'm sure it was a mistake, I saw diebolds' ceo on tv last week and he looked completely incompetent. After seeing that man and from what I've read about these diebold voting machines, I doubt his employees are any brighter...... Hopefully, there will be some sort of paper trail incorperated into these machines. From what you have written, it's apparent that you do not trust these e-voting machines, and I must agree, I don't trust them eighter. I personally like the system we use in my precent, we use paper ballots in conjunction with the 'scan tron' machines (optical paper readers). I figure you probably used scan tron forms in school, as I did. I think this is the best way of voting.... It's easy(just bubble in a circle), no hanging chads, no way of hacking it, and there is a paper trail to allow for recounts......
:-)
Hey, seriously, I'm sure it was a mistake, I saw diebolds' ceo on tv last week and he looked completely incompetent. After seeing that man and from what I've read about these diebold voting machines, I doubt his employees are any brighter...... Hopefully, there will be some sort of paper trail incorperated into these machines. From what you have written, it's apparent that you do not trust these e-voting machines, and I must agree, I don't trust them eighter. I personally like the system we use in my precent, we use paper ballots in conjunction with the 'scan tron' machines (optical paper readers). I figure you probably used scan tron forms in school, as I did. I think this is the best way of voting.... It's easy(just bubble in a circle), no hanging chads, no way of hacking it, and there is a paper trail to allow for recounts......
how should someone look when delivering such machines with hellbutton, and having its own pockets full with $$$$
sounds like someone did not understand how "demo[nc]racy" works ;-)
SCNR
sounds like someone did not understand how "demo[nc]racy" works ;-)
SCNR