Hackers at the DEF CON conference in Las Vegas last July showed just how easy it is to break into electronic voting machines.
Politico reports on a new study out Tuesday that details DEF CON's findings and explains why machines packed with foreign-made parts can be problematic:
Las Vegas was a timed event to prove a point. But the hackers say that taking the machines apart in the months since has exposed deeper vulnerabilities. Parts and programs that could easily be embedded with malware and sleeper commands are being incorporated from all over the world, from suppliers and shippers without clear security measures.
That easily opens the possibility that a country with large resources and a long-term view—like Russia—could get access.
Ambassador Doug Lute, the U.S.permanent representative to NATO from 2013 to 2017, tells Politico "from watching Russian President Vladimir Putin in action, he is anxious about what looks likely to come based on what he’s already seen, and feels like alarms should be ringing about voting in the 2018 midterms."
Hacker study: Russia could get into U.S. voting machines (Politico)
Read the report: DEFCON 25 Voting Machine Hacking Village: Report on Cyber Vulnerabilities in U.S. Election Equipment, Databases, and Infrastructure