WaPo: "disgruntled employee" could hack Florida's vote - ?!

I probably should have titled this diary, "Diebold Will Blame Election Supervisors If Anyone Hacks Their Machines," but both issues, from this piece in today's Washington Post, merit attention.

First, on the one hand, here's the conclusion at which the election supervisor of Leon County, FL, arrives:

"Was it possible for a disgruntled employee to do this and not have the elections administrator find out?" Sancho asked. "The answer was yes."

So if you're like me, you're reading along and go, "that's who they're worried about manipulating election results?  Some guy who thinks his boss hates him?"  Which ... well, argh.  Fortunately, he gets much better.  Diebold, predictably, does not:

Diebold took a dim view of the experiments. On June 8, a senior company lawyer faxed Sancho: "You have willfully and intentionally allowed the manipulation of memory cards related to your elections. . . . We believe this to have been a very foolish and irresponsible act."

Sancho's fine response on the flip.

Here's what else Diebold had to say about the experiment:

What Sancho did "is analogous to if I gave you the keys to my house and told you when I was gone," said David Bear, a Diebold spokesman. As Bear sees it, Sancho's experiment involved giving hackers "complete unfettered access" to the equipment, something a responsible elections administrator would never allow.

Thankfully, here's how Sancho responded:

The response frustrated Sancho. "More troubling than the test itself was the manner in which Diebold simply failed to respond to my concerns or the concerns of citizens who believe in American elections," he said. "I really think they're not engaged in this discussion of how to make elections safer."

He is also critical of state officials who he believes should have caught the vulnerabilities earlier. He said that vendors such as Diebold have too much influence in the administration of elections, a view that resonated with Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, the founder of the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition. Sancho is "truly an advocate for voters," she said. "What he is doing in Leon County goes completely against the grain of county election commissioners elsewhere, who are allowing vendors to dictate how to run their own elections."

It's an interesting question here, namely, the extent to which elections can or should be secured by election officials vs. the machines they use.  But it's surely more complicated than the Diebold rep tried to paint it ...

•  Diebold tried to overturn NC law

  If I may use a technical term, they got B-slapped in a big way for daring to lecture the state government.

  I mean, really.

  If elected legislators start changing election laws without keeping to the GOP script, there's no telling what kind of non-Republican majority might emerge. :)

  by cskendrick on Sun Jan 22, 2006 at 12:32:55 PM PDT

•  disgruntled employees

  Press and PR departments get a lot of public opinion mileage just slinging around the word "disgruntled". I still can't figure out why that is, since the next question the public should ask is whether there's a reason for the disgruntlement...and underlying facts might make the people trying to manipulate public media look worse.

  For this reason, I embrace the disgruntled, and I regard anyone who brings up "disgruntled employees" as untrustworthy purveyors of the cheapest kind of spin.

  On a disturbing note, our congressional representatives fall for the "disgruntled employee" move, probably because they think it will successfully sway public opinion. I got a letter from Diane Feinstein (Senator of California) that shows she thinks the State's interests is to quash those dangerous disgruntled people...rather than help her constituents.

  by scapegoat on Sun Jan 22, 2006 at 12:41:08 PM PDT

•  Isn't it funny

  how all "disgruntled employees" tend to be republicans.

  (-8.25, -6.15)

  by A Patriot on Sun Jan 22, 2006 at 01:56:41 PM PDT

•  Define "disgruntled employees"

  might that include the CEO of Deibold who is "disguntled" that Democrats might win?

  by calebfaux on Sun Jan 22, 2006 at 02:25:01 PM PDT

•  someone has to convict diebold..

  Someone has to convict diebold for fraud or dems will never win...Diebold machine was hack right before Fla. election officials eyes.Republicans have a sweet set up and they have paid good money I am sure , and if you think they are going to investigate your dreaming...We have to convict diebold..I heard a good idea from canada..someone suggested the same people that make lottery machines do election machines..Lotteries are secure, unhackable,paper trail,and trustworthy..

  by bayside on Sun Jan 22, 2006 at 04:31:22 PM PDT