Rob Cheng: All online voting for 2020 election? A security nightmare. Here's why

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed our day-to-day lives. With so many forced to adopt telework and distance learning policies in a matter of days, it is very likely this national health pandemic will permanently shift the operational mindsets of many businesses, universities and local governments.  

As we aim to embrace our new reality, society is looking for alternative means to achieve some sense of normalcy. Whether it be video conferencing in a work environment, distance learning for students, or more phone calls instead of face-to-face interactions, in so many ways we have leaned on technology to fill the gap of physical presence. 

While utilizing these forms of technology have been proven to be a saving grace for many Americans, a group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill and several political action groups are now suggesting we should offer fully digital ballots for the upcoming 2020 election. From a societal stance, I understand why this is a proposed solution. But, as the CEO of a cybersecurity firm, I can tell you that from a technological stance, it is quite frankly a terrible idea. 

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First and foremost, just as we’ve seen recently with Zoom, the Internet is not a secure place.  Why on Earth would anyone think hosting an election in an environment where hackers target Americans and hold their personal data hostage is a good idea? 

Even more so, say we do offer ballots that are delivered, completed and returned digitally – the data captured during the voting process and the integrity of the ballot has multiple places to be potentially compromised.   

The first potential area the ballot could be compromised – delivery. Whether it’s done through a website or app, the American democracy is now reliant upon the functionality and security of this platform. What happens if the website or app has technical issues like Iowa experienced during its caucuses earlier this year? How will the site be kept secure?   

America is in no position to begin hosting elections online. 

Next, you have the completion of the ballot. How will officials know who is completing it and what validation measures will be in place to ensure my vote is truly my vote?   

Between the potential technical issues, the threat of security breaches, concerns of ballot integrity, and the idea of putting a massive target on this process for cybercrime, the pros of voting online most certainly do not outweigh the cons. 

Assuming personal information is being shared, how will that be kept safe? Data breaches happen regularly, and if America decides to host an online election, can you imagine how big that target will be for cybercrime? Personal information for every American eligible to vote?! A hackers goldmine.  

Then there is the submission phase. This data would be stored on a server somewhere. How secure is it, both physically and digitally? What backups are in place to ensure the integrity of the ballots is not compromised, or hacked and held for ransom?  

Now, while it is understandable to question why we accept mail-in absentee ballots but are urging that we shouldn’t consider an absentee online voting system, I’d point to one distinct added variable to an online voting process – cybersecurity risks become an imminent threat.  

In every absentee situation, regardless of where those ballots originate, we are forced to validate the integrity of each ballot. With an online voting process, not only would we have to see the validation process through, but we’d be charged with securing an online-based electoral process from falling victim to a cyberattack when we’re not even fully successful at protecting basic government entities from falling victim to the very same sorts of attacks. 

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Between the potential technical issues, the threat of security breaches, concerns of ballot integrity, and the idea of putting a massive target on this process for cybercrime, the pros of voting online most certainly do not outweigh the cons, and absolutely could undermine the integrity of our nation’s entire electoral process. 

There’s no doubt that technology is amazing and really has become the crutch for America during these uncertain times. However, even with that being true, America is in no position to begin hosting elections online.  

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