Submission + - Dutch government bans voting machines
hcdejong writes: "Yesterday, the Dutch government announced that use of the SDU NewVote voting computer will not be allowed in the upcoming general election. The NewVote is one of two voting machines in use in the Netherlands, with a market share of about 10%.
The NewVote contains a Windows PC with a touch screen. The AIVD (Dutch secret service) found they could read the signals broadcast by the NewVote from dozens of meters away, and determine which candidate was being voted for.
The machines built by competitor Nedap also broadcast readable signals, as shown by We don't trust voting computers. These have a shorter range (less than 10m). Nedap is working to reduce these emissions, and to remove any readable information from them. These modifications will be tested again before the election.
According to the letter (warning, PDF) written by minister Nicolai, there have been two investigations: one by the AIVD into reading votes remotely, and one by research lab TNO into hacking the machines themselves (changing the software etc.).
For the election, the machines will be sealed more thoroughly than before, and EPROMs will be replaced with ROMs. After the election, several hundred machines will be tested."
The machines built by competitor Nedap also broadcast readable signals, as shown by We don't trust voting computers. These have a shorter range (less than 10m). Nedap is working to reduce these emissions, and to remove any readable information from them. These modifications will be tested again before the election.
According to the letter (warning, PDF) written by minister Nicolai, there have been two investigations: one by the AIVD into reading votes remotely, and one by research lab TNO into hacking the machines themselves (changing the software etc.).
For the election, the machines will be sealed more thoroughly than before, and EPROMs will be replaced with ROMs. After the election, several hundred machines will be tested."
