Diebold: has Built-In Wireless Infrared Data Transfer Ports - why?

[donsu]

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002458.htm


Why do Diebold's Touch-Screen Voting Machines Have Built-In Wireless Infrared Data Transfer Ports?
IrDA Protocol Can 'Totally Compromise System' Without Detection, Warns Federal Voting Standards Website

-snip-

Never mind, as Holder mentions, that the protective seals to be required are easily peeled away without tearing. Or that such voting machines have been stored in poll workers houses for weeks leading up to an election. More to the point, for the moment, there are ways to manipulate the information on those memory cards even without removing them or breaking the seals. This is more of a concern than ever, since it was recently proven, by the now-infamous Harri Hursti hack in Leon County, FL, that changing the information on the memory cards can force election results to be flipped...without a trace being left behind.

-snip-

A few election watchdog groups, including some members of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) who works with the federal authorities on these matters, have issued warnings about the IrDA port and protocols on voting machines. However, little -- if anything -- seems to have been done to mitigate the rather obvious security threat posed, as far as we can tell.

Here's how a page at Microsoft.com, last updated December 4, 2001, explains cable-free Infrafred data transfer on the Microsoft Windows CE operating system (the operating system which happens to be used in Diebold's AccuVote touch-screen voting machines -- like the one pictured above)...

-snip-

As mentioned, since touch-screen machines have been stored at poll workers' houses and other unsecured locations prior to Election Day, and since data can be transferred to the machines and their memory cards via Infrared -- even without removing the cards or breaking their protective seals -- the IrDA ports would seem to be a tremendous concern.
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voting is a farce

america is a crime scene

[MadMaddie]

1. Every day another travesty....

And it's going to take a big Nationwide American citizen CSI team to gut it and fix it!!!


<snip>
voting is a farce

america is a crime scene
<snip>

[RufusEarl]

5. I believe they the RNC, have enough of these machines in place

to rig all the upcoming elections. Perhaps we should start an absentee voting campaign, and do it nationally.

[Pab Sungenis]

8. The only answer is

...to play the game like they do. They want to make elections easy to steal, we have to start stealing them. They want to make them easy to hack, we have to start hacking them.

[Botany]

2. those data ports were put there for one reason ...

..... to manipulate the vote count.

Funny the election was in Nov of 04 but in Feb of 06 people in Alaska can
still not see the machines and compare voting data .... what are they hiding?

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002327.htm

[kaygore]

4. Stolen elections!

[kaygore]

3. Yet, where is the MSM on this; why aren't Americans taking to the streets

Answer: "It's not my problem."

We are now living in an era where the government insures that the populace has its bread and circuses so that they don't stop and think about what is happening. We are the sound bite generation with attention spans no longer than 12 minutes!

[Boredtodeath]

6. Cynthia McKinney isn't ignoring it

Cynthia will be holding a press conference 10:30 AM this Friday (tomorrow) at her Dekalb County office regarding electronic voting and the Georgia Voter ID law with Bradley Heard.

We'll discuss the 6 amendments to the Diebold contract along with the known failures of the voting equipment, as well as why Georgia officials aren't responding to the evidence these machines don't meet federal standards.

We will also discuss the fact that Diebold wants us to toss our current voting machines and buy new:

Our new voting equipment has been deemed obsolete for audit trail purposes by the office of the Sec. of State and the Kennesaw Elections Center which now indicate that the machines cannot even be retrofitted with printers.

McKinney District Offices:
North DeKalb Mall, Suite D-46
2050 Lawerenceville Highway
Decatur, GA 30033
Voice: 404-633-0927
FAX: [phone]

[femrap]

11. I don't think that's the entire reason....

Last night I attended a lecture by Eleanor Clift....what a grand, feminist Progressive. The place was packed with other Progressives.

As I was leaving, a gentleman was vehemently complaining about our (Ohio) recent defeat of the Reform Ohio Now Issues which would have cleaned up our elections....he was blaming the voters.

I turned to him and said, 'You're wrong...you have to look at Blackwell and his ties to Diebold. Our elections are manipulated and stolen electronically.' He couldn't face that fact. I told him that voters have to get their heads out of their butts and face this very ugly FACT. I believe I got him to start thinking. I should have told him about Miller's book, "Fooled Again."

Admitting that our government is an enemy of Democracy is difficult for the less jaded than ourselves, I guess. I've seen what these evil, greedy bastards are capable of...some people have difficulty facing it.

[eek]

12. People just don't hear about this stuff.

Unless it is pound-pound-pounded into our brains by TeeVee Newslike Advertising Campaigns how the hell can anything penetrate?

I am not even denigrating Regular Folks (for once :evilgrin: ).

Without repetition and reinforcement how is anything going to reach through a busy, noisy, chaotic, pre-occupied, worried life?

I don't have kids or even any critters right now so I don't have soccer, doctors, vets, homework, dinner to worry about,

I like the latest album from John Cale and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. If I turned on a Z 100ish station right now I doubt I'd know a single thing played.

I go to the non-Supermarkets so I can buy Seventh Generation dish soap and boxes of tissue because they weren't sitting too near the air freshener/scented fabric softener aisle where they've absorbed all of that stink. I won't set foot in Wal-mart.

I'm gonna read The Guardian, DU, TPM, Raw Story, Huffingtonpost instead of just vaguely picking up what's on FOX on in the background.

How the fcuk many people can really take that extra time and money? Can't dismiss (all of) 'em for not caring about what they don't know.


SO: how do we make this stuff as easy and advertisey to get to everyone?

edit:

This is why I think we are frickin' doomed. Elections-schmelections.

[mopinko]

7. hand counted paper ballots, now.

k&r

[DarkTirade]

9. The better to hack you with my dear...

[mzmolly]

10. Holy crap.

:(

[Wilms]

13. K&R n/t

[KnowerOfLogic]

14. Just because the machines *can* be hacked, doesn't mean they will be...

stop being so cynical and pessimistic. sarcasm off.

[Wilms]

15. Kick

[AtomicKitten]

16. The media is remiss in not reporting this.

No, they are negligent. This is so important and it has been successfully swept under the carpet by the Republicans in Congress.

You are right:

voting is a farce

america is a crime scene