India's EVMs are Vulnerable to Fraud

Contrary to claims by Indian election authorities, the paperless electronic voting systems used in India suffer from significant vulnerabilities. Even brief access to the machines could allow criminals to alter election results.

In this video, we demonstrate two kinds of attacks against a real Indian EVM. One attack involves replacing a small part of the machine with a look-alike component that can be silently instructed to steal a percentage of the votes in favor of a chosen candidate. These instructions can be sent wirelessly from a mobile phone. Another attack uses a pocket-sized device to change the votes stored in the EVM between the election and the public counting session, which in India can be weeks later.

These attacks are neither complicated nor difficult to perform, but they would be hard to detect or defend against. The best way to prevent them is to count votes using paper ballots that voters can see.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• India
• EVM
• e-Voting
• fraud
• electronic
• voting
• machine
• Prasad
• Halderman
• Gonggrijp

[IdleGod]

EVM's can be secure. These just aren't. Claiming that all are just a "black box" is a really desperate charge against all voting machines. How is this any different then someone changing the paper ballots? Or using invisible/changing ink?

[ropgonggrijp]

@IdleGod The DRE type of EVM is called "black box" not because we say so, but because the voter has to trust the software. I'm with the German constitutional court when they say that that leap of faith is fundamentally incompatible with free and fair elections.

Systems that involve paper _can be_ acceptable, if proper audits are always performed. (But it's no secret that I feel that, all things considered, for most elections, paper ballots are the appropriate solution.)

[abhishekutkarsh]

WE need a revolution like Tunisia and Egypt .

After millions of scams,injustice in court,400million below poverty line and trllions of dollars of indian money in swiss bank we should not practice gandhigiri if Congress have never practiced it for 50 years.

Vande Matram

[andy75081]

Here in Manipur (India), if Congress wins it might have been because of fraudulence – hacking of EVM. The people are bitter with this government: we in the city received only 4 hours of electric in 24 hours that too with many blackouts, the drinking water is very dirty and comes only about 1 hour in 3 days, the roads are worst in the world (a Japanese “circumnavigator” on his four-wheeler says it). The national daily “The times of India” said it’s a failed government.

[1nirvanaseeker]

paper votes are hard to replace and easier to protect where as electronic votes can nbe easily tampered with out known it.................you need a large people and offcial involved to change paper votes but few people an temper EVMs with any body knowing it

[Roxyhere2010]

Why no media people raise this issue..........it shows most of indian media is run by corrupt parties they all are nothing but spokesperson for different parties

[1nirvanaseeker]

@IdleGod its hard to change milions of papers but in electronic number does not matter

[SaveIndiaFromCorrupt]

ballot paper is being used in USA,Japan,England but we want to stick with EVM's.Thanks to corrupt congress

[TheNitinism]

EVMs were tempered in 2009 elections thay why the congress won . This patry is making fool of the entire country. Chor hai saale .

[tanmoyibat176]

We doubt West Bengal 2011 vote is manipulated. Because

Star Ananda (Open Supporter of TMC) a local TV channel was predicting Vote result by exit poll was accurate in number. the accuracy raised question for manipulation in result.

Support from USA for TMC (according to wiki leaks).

Support from Central Government for TMC . EVMcan hacked by them.

Though we are not sure about the manipulation but the question is that, after all these things can we trust EVM ?

[markwessex]

How could a country be prosecuting people who are highlighting the valunerability of EVMs? What are they hiding? Could only happen in fkn India. It proves India is run by Mafia under the pretense of democracy. EVM's are Banned in US, EU, and most of civilised world. How can you trust a machine, where there is NO audit trail? This is Blind faith. Even the simplest of businesses have to be transparent by providing audit trails. Indians should rise up and Rip out bad Governments. TOTAL TRANSPARENCY

[abhijithcr]

Hello all, valid points made. But what I think is that, the Paper Voting can also be rigged - in much more easier and ways, by anyone who knows how to replace a stack of paper with another set. Both EVMs and paper results will be stored in the same kind of strong rooms, with the same kind of security. EVM or Paper are just a medium for storing the votes, it is the system of security measures that count, IMHO. (But one thing i have to agree is that make the software opensource)

[abhishekutkarsh]

@SandipDev Join The Bharat Swabhiman Andolan if you believe the words you said and join protest march in Delhi in 27th Feb