Few years ago , a new research by American computer scientists has revealed that electronic voting machines (EVMs) can be tampered with or manipulated in different ways. This research is in sharp contrast to the claims of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The ECI has been claiming that tampering with EVMs is not possible.So, is it really not possible to tamper with EVMs?
The study challenges the Election Commission’s standard claim that EVMs used in India are safe and tamper-free machines. According to technology analyst Kim Zeiter, who has written extensively about the impact of electronic voting in democracies, EVMs are not immune to the risk of hacking even when connected to paper verification units.
Apart from this systematic internal flaw, the opposition and other parties have been raising their voices on the issue of logistics and distribution of EVMs.
Also Read: EVM machine is once again in the news
A brief summary of this research is as follows.
EVMs can be connected remotely.
EVMs are not connected to the internet. On this basis, it is claimed that since EVMs are not connected to the internet, then they cannot be hacked. But according to this research, if remote access software is installed on EVMs, it is very easy to hack EVMs.
Compromised at the manufacturing stage
ES&S, the largest US manufacturer of EVMs, has admitted that it has often sold remote access software to the election officials. He said “Sometimes, we have asked election officials to install remote access software on EVMs so that it can be connected remotely,”.
Hacking through telecom routers
Another way this research showed is that when elections are over, election officers send the counting of votes to their state election offices through a modem installed in the EVM. These modems use radio signals or phone lines that pass through telecom routers, which are technically part of the Internet. Hackers can intercept and change election results by passing through these routers, or they can access the machine in the EVM and tamper with the results by installing malware.
However, this research is about the EVM machine being used in the US. But the hacking methods described also apply to the machines used in India. In India, these machines are manufactured in companies operating under the government. So, it is quite possible that machines can be made suitable for hacking at the manufacturing stage itself .
This research finally suggests that elections in democratic countries should be held through paper ballots.
