A government agency has claimed that voting machines used in at least 16 states by an infamous vendor have software vulnerabilities that could compromise them in future elections.
According to ABC News, the report by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) admitted that the machines, provided by Dominion Voting Systems, are susceptible to hacking if the current vulnerabilities are not addressed. The report details at least nine specific weaknesses and suggests several measures to prevent further exploitation of these flaws.
Brandon Wales, Executive Director of CISA, said in a statement that “states’ standard election security procedures would detect exploitation of these vulnerabilities and in many cases would prevent attempts entirely.” But nevertheless, he cautioned that states should implement further “defensive measures to reduce the risk of exploitation of these vulnerabilities.”
- Alex Halderman, a computer scientist with the University of Michigan, has warned that methods of voting which rely on computers and other forms of modern technology are dangerously susceptible to hacking and other forms of cyber warfare that could alter the results of the election.
“These vulnerabilities, for the most part, are not ones that could be easily exploited by someone who walks in off the street,” said Halderman. “But they are things that we should worry could be exploited by sophisticated attackers, such as hostile nation states, or by election insiders, and they would carry very serious consequences.”
The report appears to vindicate former President Donald J. Trump, who has long claimed that the 2020 presidential election was stolen by a combination of factors and tactics, carried out by insidious actors who intended to switch the results away from him and in favor of Democrat Joe Biden. Dominion was at the heart of many of these allegations, with the company repeatedly attempting to silence critics by threatening to sue anyone who questioned their machines. Lawsuits filed recklessly by Dominion targeted such critics as former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
Dominion issued a statement in response to the report, once again insisting, despite the evidence, that their machines are “accurate and secure.”