Hursti Hack - Results

Results

This test demonstrated that DES made misrepresentations to Secretaries of State across the nation when DES claimed votes could not be changed on the memory card, the credit card-sized ballot box used by computerized voting machines.

Furthermore, DES wrote a press release referring to the famous vote changing 'Hursti Hack', stating that - "Harri Hursti is shown attacking a DES machine in Florida. But his attack proved later to be a complete sham." In response to the test election, California's Secretary of State commissioned a special report by scientists at UC Berkeley to investigate the Hursti Hack. Page 2 of their report states - "Harri Hursti's attack does work: Mr. Hursti's attack on the AV-OS is definitely real. He was indeed able to change the election results by doing nothing more than modifying the contents of a memory card. He needed no passwords, no cryptographic keys, and no access to any other part of the voting system, including the GEMS election management server."

A spokesman for DES said it was similar to "leaving your car unlocked, with the windows down and keys left in the ignition and then acting surprised when your car is stolen."

The test election was filmed and shown in the conclusion of the 2006 HBO documentary, Hacking Democracy, which premiered November 2, 2006."

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