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Yeah, what are you doing with the voting machines? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/politicalmemes@lemmy.ca
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https://www.reuters.com/world/white-house-delays-release-us-voting-machine-study-midterms-near-2026-06-19/

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[–] 41 points 4 months ago (9 children)

Look up the voting machine exhibit at Defcon all those years ago. These kids were taking total control of them within hours including faking a near split vote that barely swung towards whatever candidate they wanted.

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  • [–] 9 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    These kids were taking total control of them within hours

    That's impressive broadly speaking, but not terribly useful unless you have unfettered access to the machines for that length of time.

    Security measures on the machines aren't supposed to just be in the hardware/software. They're also supposed to be locked up and tagged, so that any physical tampering is noted when they are used again.

    If you've got teenagers who have breached that first level of security, it's much bigger news that what they managed after hours of manipulating a device in the open.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    The machines in November had network access.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    Why would they need network access? Just have it record the numbers onto a portable drive then upload the results somewhere else that has access.

    Is it too much work for poll people to transfer a usb stick to a laptop at the end of the day?

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago*

    LOL I was replying to you literally saying the hacking demo at Defcon, where they had the physical machines right there in the room, was "not terribly useful unless you have unfettered access to the machines." I'm saying that wouldn't have mattered in November because they were networked.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    Can confirm. I was there and while I did basically nothing helped one of those 'kids' by holding up the top for them. Funnily nearly all of the issues would be fixed by NOT PUTTING USB PORTS ACCESSABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON THEM. One still needs a firmware dump to know what hacks to use but its actually a easily fixable problem for the basic attacks.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (1 child)

    NOT PUTTING USB PORTS ACCESSABLE TO THE PUBLIC

    They're not normally accessible to the public. Machines are kept under lock and key by election officials.

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