Pentagon drops its Internet voting system
AP has just reported Pentagon Cancels Internet Voting System:
Citing security concerns, the Pentagon (news - web sites) has canceled Internet voting that would have involved as many as 100,000 military and overseas citizens from seven states in November, a Defense Department official said Thursday.The announcement comes two weeks after outside security experts urged the program's cancellation in a scathing report. They said hackers or terrorists could penetrate the system and change votes or gather information about users. At the time, the Pentagon said it felt confident enough to proceed.
But Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has since decided to scrap the system because Pentagon officials were not certain they could "assure the legitimacy of votes that would be cast," said a Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official said alternative voting systems will now be considered, possibly using the Internet as well. The official could not say when, if ever, such a system would be ready.