Hacker gets blessing to hole democracy

Harri Hursti, a computer security expert from Finland, will show how it is possible to turn over the the Diebold Election System and put who ever you want in power.

Secretary of State Bruce McPherson has already refused Diebold certification after 20 percent of the new, voting machines malfunctioned during a July test, however now he wants to make sure that the machines are secure.

Last May, Hursti tested a Diebold system and changed the voting results. He also inserted a new program that flashed the message "Are we having fun yet?" on the computer screens.

He confirmed that if someone has the same access as an employee of the election office it was possible to enter the computer, alter election results and exit the system without any physical record. Now McPherson wants to see this test for himself.

Hursti will use a randomly selected voting machine from one of the 17 counties that use a Diebold system. Diebold wanted it to use a machine that it provided, however that idea was vetoed by the state, we assume because it didn't want a machine designed to cheat the test.

Besides being slammed for the technology risks involved in its machines, Diebold also has also been attacked for its links to the Republican Party.

In 2003, the head of Diebold's parent company, a major backer of President Bush, wrote a fund-raising letter to Republicans, saying he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." That was when the outfit was trying to flog voting machines in the state. µ

L'INQ
San Fran