Category: Privacy & Security
-
Trying to Make Sense of the Comcast / Level 3 Dispute
[Update: I gave a brief interview to Marketplace Tech Report] The last 48 hours has given rise to a fascinating dispute between Level 3 (a major internet backbone provider) and Comcast (a major internet service retailer). The dispute involves both technical principles and fuzzy facts, so I am writing this post more as an attempt…
-
Join CITP in DC this Friday for "Emerging Threats to Online Trust"
Update – you can watch the video here. Please join CITP this Friday from 9AM to 11AM for an event entitled “Emerging Threats to Online Trust: The Role of Public Policy and Browser Certificates.” The event will focus on the trustworthiness of the technical and policy structures that govern certificate-based browser security. It will include…
-
On Facebook Apps Leaking User Identities
The Wall Street Journal today reports that many Facebook applications are handing over user information—specifically, Facebook IDs—to online advertisers. Since a Facebook ID can easily be linked to a user’s real name, third party advertisers and their downstream partners can learn the names of people who load their advertisement from those leaky apps. This reportedly…
-
Hacking the D.C. Internet Voting Pilot
The District of Columbia is conducting a pilot project to allow overseas and military voters to download and return absentee ballots over the Internet. Before opening the system to real voters, D.C. has been holding a test period in which they've invited the public to evaluate the system's security and usability. This is exactly the…
-
Copyright, Censorship, and Domain Name Blacklists at Home in the U.S.
Last week, The New York Times reported that Russian police were using copyright allegations to raid political dissidents, confiscating the computers of advocacy groups and opposition newspapers “under the pretext of searching for pirated Microsoft software.” Admirably, Microsoft responded the next day with a declaration of license amnesty to all NGOs: To prevent non-government organizations…
-
Indian E-Voting Researcher Freed After Seven Days in Police Custody
FLASH: 4:47 a.m. EDT August 28 — Indian e-voting researcher Hari Prasad was released on bail an hour ago, after seven days in police custody. Magistrate D. H. Sharma reportedly praised Hari and made strong comments against the police, saying Hari has done service to his country. Full post later today.
-
Update: Indian E-Voting Researcher Remains in Police Custody
Update: 8/28 Indian E-Voting Researcher Freed After Seven Days in Police Custody In case you’re just tuning in, e-voting researcher Hari Prasad, with whom I coauthored a paper exposing serious flaws in India’s electronic voting machines (EVMs), was arrested Saturday morning at his home in Hyderabad. The arresting officers told him they were acting under “pressure…
-
It’s Time for India to Face its E-Voting Problem
The unjustified arrest of Indian e-voting researcher Hari Prasad, while an ordeal for Prasad and his family, and an embarrassment to the Indian authorities, has at least helped to focus attention on India’s risky electronic voting machines (EVMs). Sadly, the Election Commission of India, which oversees the country’s elections, is still sticking to its position…
-
Electronic Voting Researcher Arrested Over Anonymous Source
Updates:8/28Alex Halderman: Indian E-Voting Researcher Freed After Seven Days in Police Custody 8/26Alex Halderman: Indian E-Voting Researcher Remains in Police Custody 8/24Ed Felten: It’s Time for India to Face its E-Voting Problem 8/22Rop Gonggrijp: Hari is in jail 🙁 About four months ago, Ed Felten blogged about a research paper in which Hari Prasad, Rop…
-
The Future of DRE Voting Machines
Last week at the EVT/WOTE workshop, Ari Feldman and I unveiled a new research project that we feel represents the future of DRE voting machines. DRE (direct-recording electronic) voting machines are ones where voters cast their ballots by pressing buttons or using a touch screen, and the primary record of the votes is stored in…