I've been promoting my new story on voting system vendors (politico.pro/2EGl1Nq), and I know most of you can't read it, so I'd like to share an anecdote from the reporting process that neatly sums up why security experts are so worried about these vendors.
One of the companies in this space is MicroVote, which sells electronic voting machines to Indiana and Tennessee. Cyber experts say these machines are dangerously insecure.
(Side note: Here's a great resource for checking what machines your state uses: verifiedvoting.org/verifier/)
(Side note: Here's a great resource for checking what machines your state uses: verifiedvoting.org/verifier/)
So, I set up an interview with Bernie Hirsch, MicroVote’s top security employee.
He asked me to send my Qs in advance, which I declined to do. Journalists don't do that.
He asked me for some of the topics I planned to bring up. I mentioned security critiques of his products.
He asked me to send my Qs in advance, which I declined to do. Journalists don't do that.
He asked me for some of the topics I planned to bring up. I mentioned security critiques of his products.
Hirsch then canceled our interview.
"It appears from the subjective nature of your questions that this is more of an opinion piece," he emailed me, "and so I won’t be able to assist you further at this time."
"It appears from the subjective nature of your questions that this is more of an opinion piece," he emailed me, "and so I won’t be able to assist you further at this time."
To support his claim that MicroVote's products were secure, Hirsch sent me a 2008 Brookings/AEI voting system report written by people with no cybersecurity expertise.
The report (brookings.edu/wp-content/upl…) argues that electronic records are more secure than paper ballots.
The report (brookings.edu/wp-content/upl…) argues that electronic records are more secure than paper ballots.
This is how MicroVote views election security.
I didn't even get this far with most of the other major players in the U.S. election technology space.
The two biggest voting machine makers, ES&S and Dominion, refused to talk to me.
I didn't even get this far with most of the other major players in the U.S. election technology space.
The two biggest voting machine makers, ES&S and Dominion, refused to talk to me.
More about my story from my initial thread here:
