Each "red team" was to try to compromise the accuracy, security, and integrity of the voting systems without making assumptions about compensating controls or procedural mitigation measures that vendors, the Secretary of State, or individual counties may have adopted. The red teams demonstrated that, under these conditions, the technology and security of all three systems could be compromised.

The key one is that the results presented in this study should be seen as a "lower bound"; all team members felt that they lacked sufficient time to conduct a thorough examination, and consequently may have missed other serious vulnerabilities.

In addition, the 7200.2 comes with Seagate's new free fall sensor called G-Force Protection, it offers a wider operating temperature range, and comes with a comforting five year manufacturer's warranty. The 7200.2 also is one of the most expensive notebook hard drives, at $240. In contrast, we found the Fujitsu drive for as little as $140, and Toshiba's 160 GB product is available for only $120. Seagate wins, but it makes its product hardly affordable, which I guess makes the decision a bit more difficult.