Find a Way to Rig the Automated Elections, and You Win P100M!
By Rico, 2:02 am Sun Apr 19 2009 - Editorial, Featured - 3 Opinions
Tomorrow, Senatar Alan Peter Cayetano will file a resolution creating a P100 million reward to anyone who can prove that the planned poll system for the 2010 elections is open to tampering. As inquirer.net reports:
Cayetano, at a press conference Friday, said that if any IT expert can establish that the system to be used in the 2010 polls is not secure from fraud and tampering, “Comelec should cancel the contract, save the P11 billion and sue for damages the contractor in the event of such successful hacking.”
He said he would rather revert to the manual counting of votes if the computerized system would lead to wholesale cheating.
At first glance, it makes sense to offer such a massive incentive to anyone who can poke holes into the COMELEC’s planned election automation system. The system will enjoy a challenge from people initially unfamiliar with the system; anything that the system creators may have overlooked may be obvious to these challengers. A relatively small percentage of the P11 billion election automation budget can ensure security for the 2010 elections, or help us avoid potential massive election failure.
Yet I also know that no system—even our current, manual-based election process—is absolutely secure. With a reward this big, you can bet that people will be trying their absolute best to compromise the system. Cayetano’s resolution may do more harm than good, especially since his press conference establishes that the senator is simply looking for a reason to cancel election automation, instead of revealing technical and human errors in the system for correction.
In other words, once someone claims the reward—and the chance for that happening is high—the public and political pressure to cancel automating the 2010 elections will be strong. At the very least, enough to push back the progress of election automation in the Philippines and its accompanying benefits.
bursky
10:10 am Sun Apr 19 2009
it’s a S-T-U-P-I-D “challenge”, if you ask me. i always thought it was just that — ignorant people having too much trust in a hi-tech system. but, as you pointed out, mukhang may malalang political side din. di ko lang naisip na ganyan. thanks!
MasterCarlo
10:10 am Mon Apr 20 2009
Good Day to all,
Looks like a challenging offer for successful hacking of 2010 Election Automation System. I am very interested to join and looking forward for that event. If there’s anyone could help me to participate or how to join with the said event, please kindly ping me at carlo.manila@yahoo.com. thanx and God Bless to all.
Zach
3:03 pm Tue Apr 21 2009
The challenge will all go down to the programmers who will do the system. They should be extremely capable and be an authority in IT. They should be hackers themselves not just some random contractor.
We all know it’s technically possible to create a hack-free system.
I just hope they won’t hack their own system and get a cut of that 100M (awww, im too negative).