<http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2102-1029_3-5083772.html?tag=3Dni_print>
VeriSign tapped to secure Internet voting=20 By Robert Lemos=20 Staff Writer, CNET News.com=20 http://news.com.com/2100-1029-5083772.html=20 VeriSign announced Monday that it will provide key components of a system d= esigned to let Americans abroad cast absentee votes over the Internet.=20 The contract was granted by consulting firm Accenture, which is working wit= h the U.S. Department of Defense on a voting system known as the Secure Ele= ctronic Registration and Voting Experiment . When completed, the system wil= l allow absentee military personnel and overseas Americans from eight parti= cipating states to cast their votes in the 2004 general election.=20 "The solution we are building will enable absentee voters to exercise their= right to vote," said George Schu, a vice president at VeriSign. "The sanct= ity of the vote can't be compromised nor can the integrity of the system be= compromised--it's security at all levels."=20 VeriSign has been selected to host the servers and information needed to au= thenticate voters and ensure that they cast only one vote. Internet and el= ectronic voting systems are notoriously hard to secure. In July, researcher= s at Johns Hopkins University raised extensive security issues with a leadi= ng electronic voting system manufactured by Diebold Election Systems.=20 Schu stressed that several layers of security will prevent hackers from acc= essing the system. VeriSign will house the security servers in its own host= ing centers. The company will ask military personnel to use their Common Ac= cess Cards--the latest form of ID for the military--to access the system an= d cast a vote. Civilians will use digital signatures.=20 Overseas U.S. citizens from Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, North Car= olina, South Carolina, Utah and Washington will be able to use the system t= o cast votes.=20 Related News=20 Voting machine fails inspection=9A=9A July 24, 2003=20 http://news.com.com/2100-1009-5054088.html=20 Tech glitches don't mar Florida vote=9A=9A November 6, 2002=20 http://news.com.com/2100-1023-964609.html=20 Tech makes its mark at the ballot box=9A=9A November 6, 2002=20 http://news.com.com/2009-1023-964723.html=20 U.K. puts online voting to the test=9A=9A April 26, 2002=20 http://news.com.com/2110-1023-893093.html=20 Toward digital democracy=9A=9A November 6, 2001=20 http://news.com.com/2009-1023-275348.html=20 Get this story's "Big Picture"=20 http://news.com.com/2104-1029-5083772.html=20 --=20 ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
