For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Subscribe to
Computerworld 40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.
Public, security experts' e-voting views differ sharply
or
Other Security Stories
|
|
|
|
August 06, 2004 (Computerworld) -- Security experts are substantially more skeptical about e-voting than the public, but their greatest worry is system and programming errors, not malicious hacker attacks, according to a survey released this week by the Ponemon Institute.
The study, conducted in July and early August, aimed to measure public opinion about electronic voting systems and then compare the results with those of security experts -- both IT pros and hackers.
"The degree of difference was just startling," said Larry Ponemon, adjunct professor of ethics and privacy at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the independent institute bearing his name.
The Tucson, Ariz.-based institute collected 2,933 usable responses nationwide from the public, both online and by postal mail, and surveyed 100 attendees at the Black Hat and Defcon hacking/security conferences.
Six out of 10 Black Hat/Defcon attendees had an unfavorable view of e-voting, while only 17% of the public did (22% of experts and 28% of the public were undecided).
Ponemon expected the public to be less concerned about e-voting problems than the hackers. However, in all the studies he has conducted comparing views of experts in various fields with those of the public at large, "I have not really seen differences of this magnitude before," he said.
Twenty percent of the experts cited system and programming errors as their top concern, followed by attempts to influence the outcome of an election (17%). A potential breach of security by hackers and cybercriminals ranked third (15%) as a potential e-voting worry among the Black Hat/Defcon attendees.
Among the public, the top worry was a decline in voter turnout because of fear or distrust of e-voting systems (18%), followed by human errors and privacy violations (15% each).
A number of citizen and political groups as well as security experts have criticized electronic voting systems, charging that they are unreliable and insecure. Many have called for a "paper trail" so that results can be recounted via hard-copy backups. System vendors insist that their machines are reliable and argue that critics are touting unlikely worst-case scenarios as probabilities (see our e-voting special coverage page). The president of the Information Technology Association of America, Harris Miller, told Computerworld that some of the criticism is less about electronic voting machines than "a religious war about open-source software vs. proprietary software" (see story).
In the Ponemon Institute survey, 83% of the experts said e-voting is either less or much less secure against election tampering than traditional paper ballot machines, compared with just 19% of the general public. Almost half (49%) of the experts said electronic voting systems were less likely to record and report their votes accurately, vs. 21% of the public.
"Most people are fairly trusting of this technology," Ponemon said. But among the security experts he spoke with, the feeling was quite different. "They think a lot of this technology is pretty crummy," he said.
 |
|
|
|
Print this Story |
|
Send Us Feedback |
|
E-mail this Story |
|
Digg this Story |
|
Slashdot this Story |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
All Zones Application Performance Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone |
 See your link here
|
 |
||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
|
Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security
Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs.
Get this white paper now!
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
- Tired of waiting on Apple, researchers disclose iCal bugs
- Size matters: Yahoo claims 2-petabyte database is world's biggest, busiest
- Rising energy costs may usher in workplace changes
- More top stories
Security Management ZoneSecurity management is the process of developing a comprehensive data protection plan. It takes into account all potential threats, the existing network environment, the future needs of the organization, and lays out a multi-tiered blueprint to integrate the security technology needed to combat these threats. CDW can help keep your network and data secure. Visit the CDW Security Management Zone now See All Zones
|
 Fired up about IT? Join Sharkbait and share your true tales of IT. SharkBait is the place for you to sound off about everything IT – the good, the bad, and the rest of the weird stuff you deal with every day.New baits 
|
"Security Directions" virtual trade show2008's Code-Red Security Issues for Protecting the EnterpriseWebcasts, white papers, demos, and more. Presented in a unique 3-d environment. Enter our show right now! Click here to enter
|
 In SecurityThere's plenty of talk about how to behave during a Customs search of your computer and gear, but Jon Espenschied's got tips for securing your data (and privacy) before you reach the border. Click here to read the latest column by Jon Espenschied |
 |
 |
Layered Security Solutions
Although basic network security issues have changed very little over the past decade, the
network security landscape has changed dramatically. Today's IT professionals still have the
primary responsibility of protecting the confidentiality of corporate information, preventing
unauthorized access, and defending the network against attacks. Security experts and analysts agree that a security solution comprised of multiple layers is the best defense against today's increasingly sophisticated attacks.Download this white paper
|
Universal Threat Management - Because Conventional UTM is Not Enough!
This white paper, written by Mark Bouchard of Missing Link Security Services, examines the challenges confronting today's enterprises with respect to managing threats on a network. It also discusses the need for "Universal Threat Management", which is a security solution approach for all physical locations within an enterprise that require threat protection.Download this white paper |
Selecting the Right Threat Management Solution
This short demo will guide you through key considerations for selecting a solution to manage threats on a network. Learn about the popularity of Unified Threat Management (UTM), and how it fits into an overall security solution. Explore critical elements of a network-wide solution for multisite and large network-size deployments and identify the four key features of a threat management solution.View this demo
|
CIO
Computerworld
CSO
DEMO
GamePro
Games.net
IDG Connect
IDG World Expo
Infoworld
The Industry Standard
ITworld
JavaWorld
LinuxWorld
MacUser
Macworld
Network World
PC World
Playlist
Copyright © 2008 Computerworld Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited.
Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are
trademarks of International Data Group Inc.
|
