Cybersecurity experts are warning that Maryland’s online absentee-ballot system is dangerously vulnerable to tampering and privacy invasions, both growing concerns in a year when hackers have breached the Democratic National Committee and attempted to access boards of elections in at least two states. The system allows voters who request an absentee ballot to receive the form by email and send back a printed hard copy, with their votes marked by hand or with a new online tool that allows users to mark the document with the click of a mouse or the touch of a keyboard, then print it for mail delivery. Until this year, in large part because of security concerns, the latter option was available only to people with disabilities. Critics say it is easy for impostors to use stolen credentials to request absentee ballots or for cyberthieves to hack in and retrieve data about who is requesting ballots or details of votes that were cast online. … A group of computer scientists and cybersecurity experts wrote to the board two days before its vote and urged it not to certify the system, saying the setup would “make Maryland one of the most vulnerable states in the U.S. for major election tampering.”
Save Our Votes, a voting-integrity group, says the state board shouldn’t have certified the online marking tool, arguing that Maryland law prohibits the panel from greenlighting any voting program until it can ensure the secrecy of ballots.
“No information transmitted over the internet can be considered private or secure,” the group said in an August letter to the board.
Michael Greenberger, a University of Maryland law professor and director of the school’s Center for Health and Homeland Security, told the board in a letter that any online ballot-delivery system would be “far too vulnerable to hacking by bad actors who seek to compromise the integrity of American elections.”
Full Article: Maryland moves forward with online voting despite warnings from cyber-experts – The Washington Post.