{"id":4670,"date":"2016-10-05T16:30:22","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T20:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncjolt.org\/?p=4670"},"modified":"2020-06-04T20:52:59","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:52:59","slug":"russian-hackers-presidential-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/blogs\/russian-hackers-presidential-election\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Vote: Russian Hackers and Cybersecurity in the Presidential Election"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an already contentious election season draws into the homestretch, national security officials have detected hacking attempts<\/a><\/span> to at least 20 state voter registration systems<\/a><\/span>. And Russia could be to blame.
\nWith more states moving toward housing voter registration rolls online, the concern is that hackers could potentially gain access and delete voters in swing states in order to tip the scales toward a particular election outcome. Although voters could still cast provisional ballots if there is a discrepancy with their registration, this sort of breech could cause chaos at the polls<\/a><\/span> with long lines and disgruntled voters. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson assures the public that no evidence has been found of any manipulation of those voter registration systems.
\nThe FBI is investigating Russian hackers as the potential culprits of the activity. Leads include Vladimir Fomenko<\/a><\/span>, \u201cthe owner of a server rental company called King Servers<\/a><\/span> used by hackers in an incursion on computerized election systems in Arizona and Illinois<\/a><\/span> this year.\u201d Multiple congressional leaders<\/a><\/span> have also pointed to Russia. The White House has yet to publicly accuse Russia for the attacks, but concerns over releasing classified information to support the accusation and Vladimir Putin\u2019s aggressive posturing towards public rebukes may explain the slow acknowledgment from the Obama administration.
\nAmid the hacking reports are renewed concerns that voting machines themselves may be at risk, leading to contested election results.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the nation\u2019s bulky and decentralized voting system actually adds a critical layer of protection against election manipulation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The United States has over 8000 separate jurisdictions<\/a><\/span> in which voters cast ballots, and all of them use their own voting methods based on state and local rules. This means hacking the entire U.S. voting system is nearly literally impossible to penetrate much less to alter the results of the election.
\nEven so, FBI Director James Comey said, “We are urging the states just to make sure that their deadbolts are thrown<\/a><\/span> and their locks are on and to get the best information they can from [the Department of Homeland Security], just to make sure their systems are secure.\u201d
\nSome states have more to worry about than others. One in four voters<\/a><\/span> live in a jurisdiction that does not have a paper backup system, which would allow states to conduct audits in a contested election. CBS report<\/span>s<\/a>: \u201cFive states are completely paperless: Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey and South Carolina. Nine other states have some counties that use paperless systems: Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.\u201d Among that list, crucial swing states like Pennsylvania<\/a><\/span> cause the most concern.
\nProfessor Andrew Appel of Princeton University demonstrated how easily the digital voting machines, like the ones used in Pennsylvania, could be hacked. Appel and a student managed to modify a machine with their own computer chips that would throw off the machine\u2019s results in just seven minutes<\/a><\/span>. Appel and colleagues have been sounding the alarm for nearly 15 years, engaging in a series of stunts to spread a simple message: \u201cThat the machines that Americans use at the polls are less secure than the iPhones they use to navigate their way there.\u201d
\nTo minimize the risk of tampering at polling locations, the chief security officer of cybersecurity company Carbon Black Ben Johnson suggested<\/a><\/span> that election officials should:<\/p>\n