Hacking the Election for McCain
Stephen Spoonamore is a lifelong Republican and McCain supporter who also happens to be a cybersecurity expert. He has worked on election campaigns for Giuliani and Bloomberg. Spoonamore has come forward in recent weeks to warn the public about the danger of the election being stolen through the hacking of electronic voting machines in battleground states, and claims specific knowledge (apparently diagnostic in nature) of an attempt to steal the election on behalf of John McCain. A ten-part interview with Spoonamore can be found on YouTube. Here's one part of that interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lrFkRHrRDI
Based on the research I've been able to conduct thus far, I'm inclined to believe that Spoonamore is credible and is every bit the expert he appears to be. A new blog post by columnist Sharon Machlis at ComputerWorld supports this.
Spoonamore's comments are positively terrifying. He warns not only of domestic hackers but the very real possibility that the election result could be altered by a foreign government.
One thing is undeniable: the evidence that electronic voting machines are easily hackable is overwhelming, and these hackable machines are being used in a number of states, enough states that a concerted effort could in fact change the outcome of the election. Until the vote is secured nationwide, we cannot even begin to consider the basis of our democracy to be secure. I think it behooves us to be vigilant and to monitor the situation closely to insure that the election results are accurate and fair.
I have several questions:
Why are Stephen Spoonamore's concerns not being reported more widely?
What, technically, can be done to monitor those locales that use electronic voting machines so as to determine whether what Spoonamore calls MIMs have been used in the reporting of electronic voting results, and to protect against their use? And to detect other forms of hacking?
And what is the official position of the Department of Homeland Security on this major threat to our national integrity?
Is Barack Obama really destined to lose even if he wins? Are we?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lrFkRHrRDI
Based on the research I've been able to conduct thus far, I'm inclined to believe that Spoonamore is credible and is every bit the expert he appears to be. A new blog post by columnist Sharon Machlis at ComputerWorld supports this.
Spoonamore's comments are positively terrifying. He warns not only of domestic hackers but the very real possibility that the election result could be altered by a foreign government.
One thing is undeniable: the evidence that electronic voting machines are easily hackable is overwhelming, and these hackable machines are being used in a number of states, enough states that a concerted effort could in fact change the outcome of the election. Until the vote is secured nationwide, we cannot even begin to consider the basis of our democracy to be secure. I think it behooves us to be vigilant and to monitor the situation closely to insure that the election results are accurate and fair.
I have several questions:
Why are Stephen Spoonamore's concerns not being reported more widely?
What, technically, can be done to monitor those locales that use electronic voting machines so as to determine whether what Spoonamore calls MIMs have been used in the reporting of electronic voting results, and to protect against their use? And to detect other forms of hacking?
And what is the official position of the Department of Homeland Security on this major threat to our national integrity?
Is Barack Obama really destined to lose even if he wins? Are we?
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Wish you hadn't reminded me of this. I'm convinced they stole 2004 with hacking. I think it was Ohio - someone reported that results were flashing up before counting started! Add to that the extraordinary difference between the exit polling and the results. I vividly remember my depression and conclusion that the Dems would never win another presidental election in America because of hacking.
Why the hell you can't go back to paper & pencil ballots with scrutineers watching the count beats me - it works beautifully here in Australia - we get the results in quickly and they have integrity.
October 3, 2008 6:21 PM | Reply | Permalink