E-voting companies store software in national library, but scientists rema

[Kadie]

E-voting companies store software in national library, but scientists remain concerned

By RACHEL KONRAD, AP Technology Writer


Last Updated: October 26, 2004, 05:40:27 PM PDT


SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Addressing sharp criticism from computer scientists, the nation's largest voting machine companies are submitting millions of lines of code to the National Software Reference Library, potentially shedding light on the secret software used in elections.

But executives at the voting machine makers said Tuesday they would not submit their most valuable data - their proprietary source code. And they might not provide the library with copies of software patches, updates and upgrades.

Computer scientists said the conciliatory gesture wouldn't help ensure the integrity of next week's presidential election, when as many as 29 million Americans will cast electronic ballots. Some researchers worry that hackers, software bugs, ill-trained poll workers or power outages could intentionally or accidentally erase or alter voting data.

"This is a step in the right direction," said Doug Jones, associate professor at the University of Iowa Department of Computer Science. "I just wish these steps had been taken earlier. I say hooray, but it's a long-term benefit with some pretty glaring caveats."

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http://www.modbee.com/state_wire/story/9336725p-10243668c.html

[Rjnerd]

1. Without the sources

There isn't a lot to reasonably examine. Yes, you could look at the binaries, but that adds about 2 orders of magnitude to the problem of deciding whats happening inside the stuff.

It was thru leaked sources, that we found the Diebold double set of books.