(Daily Caller) Hackers at the annual DEF CON conference convened in Las Vegas this past weekend to identify vulnerabilities in voting machines for the 2024 election, but it may be too late to address their findings before this year’s election.
The DEF CON “Voting Village” hacking event entailed hackers working with a variety of voting machines, attempting to bypass firewalls and other security measures on devices meant for counting ballots and confirming voters’ identities, Politico reported. Many individuals focused on election integrity are concerned that no system to swiftly update security measures exists, according to the outlet.
“As far as time goes, it is hard to make any real, major, systemic changes, but especially 90 days out from the election,” Catherine Terranova, one of the Voting Village organizers, reportedly stated.
“Vote here” signage is stored at a warehouse at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC) ahead of the 2024 Arizona Primary and General elections in Phoenix, Arizona on June 3, 2024. Maricopa County election workers have repeatedly been the target of harassment and threats since the 2020 US election due to the spread of online misinformation about voter fraud. Officials are preparing for another onslaught of conspiracy theories in the 2024 presidential race by bulking up security and giving public tours at their ballot tabulation facility in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
The organizers plan on publishing an imminent report on the hacker’s findings, according to the outlet. Harri Hursti, co-founder of the Voting Village, reportedly said the detected vulnerabilities took up “multiple pages” by Saturday afternoon. However, the process to address any bugs in the system would likely not finish in time for the November general election, according to the outlet.
The event comes after former President Donald Trump’s campaign was reportedly hacked. The campaign referenced a Microsoft report that claimed Iranian hackers targeted a “high-ranking official on a presidential campaign.”
Microsoft says Iran is creating fake sites, spreading false stories and even hacking the Trump campaign’s IT system – all in an attempt to disrupt the U.S. presidential election. NewsNation’s @elinashirazi has more on what Iran is trying to do. pic.twitter.com/nmxEycOCGu
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) August 11, 2024
