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The Iowa Caucuses App Could Have Been Hacked (propublica.org) 120

A security firm consulted by ProPublica found that the "IowaReporter" app used to count and report votes from individual precincts in the Iowa Democratic caucuses was vulnerable to hacking. From the report: The IowaReporterApp was so insecure that vote totals, passwords and other sensitive information could have been intercepted or even changed, according to officials at Massachusetts-based Veracode, a security firm that reviewed the software at ProPublica's request. Because of a lack of safeguards, transmissions to and from the phone were left largely unprotected. Chris Wysopal, Veracode's chief technology officer, said the problems were elementary. He called it a "poor decision" to release the software without first fixing them. "It is important for all mobile apps that deal with sensitive data to have adequate security testing, and have any vulnerabilities fixed before being released for use," he said.

There's no evidence that hackers intercepted or tampered with caucus results. An attack would have required some degree of sophistication, but it would have been much easier to pull off had a precinct worker used an open Wi-Fi hotspot to report votes instead of a cell data plan. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security offered to test the app for the Iowa Democratic Party, but the party never took the government up on it, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly. The official said the party did participate in a dry run, known as a tabletop exercise. The party did not respond to requests for comment on this issue.
Gerard Niemira, Shadow's CEO, said in a statement to ProPublica that "we are committed to the security of our products, including the app used during the Iowa caucuses. While there were reporting delays, what was most important is that the data was accurate and the caucus reporting process remained secure throughout."

"Our app underwent multiple, rigorous tests by a third party, but we learned today that a researcher found a vulnerability in our app. As with all software, sometimes vulnerabilities are discovered after they are released." He added that no "hack or intrusion" occurred during the caucuses, and that "the integrity of the vote in Iowa was not compromised in any way." The app is not currently in use, he said.

NBC News is also reporting that the phone number used to report Iowa caucus results was posted on 4chan on Monday night "along with encouragement to 'clog the lines,' an indication that jammed phone lines that left some caucus managers on hold for hours may have in part been due to prank calls."
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The Iowa Caucuses App Could Have Been Hacked

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  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Thursday February 06, 2020 @06:24PM (#59699648)
    and it just so happens Bernie is likely to win Iowa. It's pretty clear to anyone who's been paying attention what's going on. The goal is to make sure Bernie doesn't get the post Iowa winning news cycle. CNN has already ran stories that indicate Buttigieg won (while 62% of the vote was out) and then took all discussion of the primary off their front page.

    This is all a fix. Just like 2016. The only question is will they get away with it again and stuff somebody like Biden or Buttigieg or Bloomberg down our throats.
    • Can't we just fire the DNC? They seem at this point literally terminally corrupt.

      Maybe I should just add "They should have hired me instead!" to my post signature.

      • by drnb ( 2434720 ) on Thursday February 06, 2020 @07:45PM (#59699894)

        Can't we just fire the DNC? They seem at this point literally terminally corrupt.

        Now you may be wondering what does the Clinton machine have to do with Iowa. Well the developer was founded by high level Hillary 2016 staffers. "At the center of the confusion is an app reportedly built by a for-profit company called “Shadow Inc.” ... The LA Times notes that Shadow began life as Groundbase, which was founded by former Clinton 2016 digital campaign staffers Gerard Niemira and Krista Davis."

        When will the Democratic Party learn that the Clinton machine members have to go? At all levels, in all niches. They are failure (2008), after failure (2016), after failure (2020). Their only successes were with Bill and that was more an issue of Bill overcoming their ineptness during campaigns and often ignoring them during his presidency. They've even f'd up CNN as they infiltrated its staff over the years.

        The entire "Russia" thing was blown out of proportion by the Clinton machine to protect their position in the DNC, its their cover story. Because $200K in ads on Facebook were important, unlike the Clinton machine backing the wrong candidate, an incompetent candidate, having the wrong strategy, giving the American people the wrong message and alienating many Americans with their elitist snobbery.

        Seriously, get rid of these people. They are past their prime, they haven't done anything useful in decades. The last twenty years have been one big Nepotistic Clusterf*ck around the Clinton Machine. The DNC cannot be reformed while these people remain insiders.

        • by guruevi ( 827432 )

          What's more, the parent company is ran by the life partner of a Buttigieg strategist and funded by the Soros campaign. And both the Buttigieg and Sanders campaign made 'consulting fee' payments to Shadow Inc, the creator of the app in the last few months.

          But don't worry, it will be used in a couple of the next few states.

        • The entire "Russia" thing was blown out of proportion by the Clinton machine to protect their position in the DNC, its their cover story.

          I'll be honest, I can't see how that protects the position of the Clinton machine in the DNC.

          • by drnb ( 2434720 )

            The entire "Russia" thing was blown out of proportion by the Clinton machine to protect their position in the DNC, its their cover story.

            I'll be honest, I can't see how that protects the position of the Clinton machine in the DNC.

            Because Hillary's loss was not their fault. It wan't the fault of campaigning, or messaging, or outreach to states or groups, or strategy, or spending priorities, or being out of touch with so many voters/groups, or any other thing the DNC was involved with; nor was it due to outed activities against Bernie, outed collusion with debate hosts, of having their fingers on the scale to get their preferred candidate that was also an incredibly poor campaigner and strategist, etc. Hillary's loss was entirely due

            • Your right on point. They love to blame the Russians but it doesn't withstand any practical level of scrutiny. $200,000 in spending out of $2.4 billion just from the campaigns themselves. Most of that $200,000 wasn't even spent for or against either candidate. Most of it was spent on general agitation ads designed to set Americans against one another.

              https://www.thenation.com/arti... [thenation.com]

              Hillary jumped to claim Russian interference and assuage her ego because the Russians have been messing with US affairs since

      • Blame Bernie. Run with the DNC, die by the DNC.
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by spun ( 1352 )

      Yeah, this "We wuz haxxored!1!" narrative is the excuse they will use for the discrepancies between what Bernie's people recorded with their actual, functional app and what was reported through official channels. Never mind that there are reports of Warren staffers literally watching Pete Buttered-eggs staffers using the app to cheat and send false information. Never mind that a top Buttered-eggs staffer is married to the head of Shadow. Never mind that Buttered-eggs campaign paid shadow for unspecified ser

      • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

        the discrepancies between what Bernie's people recorded with their actual, functional app and what was reported through official channels.

        Trust Bernie's people to report that Bernie won. A truly surprising claim.

        • by spun ( 1352 ) <loverevolutionary&yahoo,com> on Thursday February 06, 2020 @06:57PM (#59699738) Journal

          It was a god damn open caucus you doofus. Everyone has to stand in a group for the candidate they want. Everyone's vote is entirely public, and nobody is anonymous. Bernie's team took fucking pictures because that is perfectly legal, and absolutely the smart thing to do when you've been cheated previously.

          But yes, even without photographic evidence, I would absolutely trust Bernie Sanders over any other politician. He is the only one who has not lied to us.

          • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

            But yes, even without photographic evidence, I would absolutely trust Bernie Sanders over any other politician. He is the only one who has not lied to us.

            Your own guy disagrees with your conclusion [cbsnews.com]:

            But Sanders called the difference separating the two "meaningless" because both Buttigieg and Sanders are likely to receive the same number of national delegates, given the small difference between them in SDEs.

            • by spun ( 1352 )

              Bernie absolutely and unequivocally won the popular vote. And is tied in delegates. What's your fucking point?

              • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

                "But he did win, by a large margin. Perhaps not your district, but state wide, he absolutely won."

                Bernie absolutely and unequivocally won the popular vote. And is tied in delegates. What's your fucking point?

                Such a large margin that he's tied in SDEs.

                Why bother claiming "If I'm wrong, I'll admit it" [slashdot.org] if you're simply going to call a tie a win? You owe fropenn an apology, and my point is to call out your bullshit.

                • by spun ( 1352 )

                  Except it's not bullshit. It's a win. Popular votes matter, unless you are a Republican. Oh, wait. Now I get it...

                  • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

                    It's a tie. Delegates matter, and in Iowa delegates are awarded by SDEs.

                    Signed,
                    An actual Democratic voter. Deal with it.

                    • by spun ( 1352 )

                      When you have to either vote for Bernie or admit you'd rather have Trump, I'll be there laughing. At you, not with you. You pro-corporate centrists can try to steal this again if you want to, but it won't work. In every poll, Bernie beats Trump by the widest margin.

                      Tell you what, if you give that fucker Buttered-eggs the same shit as Bernie, I'll retract everything. Manchurian Pete announced his fucking victory that night. How'd he know, hmmmmm?

                      The fix was in. The country is sick and tired of corporate cent

                    • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

                      Manchurian Pete announced his fucking victory that night. How'd he know, hmmmmm?

                      Someone one said, "It was a god damn open caucus you doofus. Everyone has to stand in a group for the candidate they want. Everyone's vote is entirely public, and nobody is anonymous."

                    • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

                      In every poll, Bernie beats Trump by the widest margin.

                      So easy to prove wrong that it's sad [realclearpolitics.com]. Biden has Sanders beat there.

                    • by spun ( 1352 )

                      Yes, and the results that Bernie has don't match what the Iowa caucus is reporting. Meaning either Bernie is lying for the first time in his life, or the Iowa caucus miscounted. According to Bernie's numbers, he should be up two delegates. In several cases so far, the Iowa caucus has been forced to admit their mistakes. Why should we believe their final numbers?

                      Why don't we check back in two weeks or so. I'm willing to bet, by then, that the Iowa caucus will have been forced to admit that Bernie won. And we

                    • by spun ( 1352 )

                      Cherry picked bullshit from a corporate stooge, and all those polls are from last year. Read up on RealClearPolitics here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

                      Fucking hedge fund managers, man. Do you trust 'em? I don't.

                    • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

                      Cherry picked bullshit from a corporate stooge, and all those polls are from last year.

                      Dude, the dates are right there - they're from 2-3 weeks ago.
                      NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl 1/26 - 1/29 Biden +6
                      IBD/TIPP 1/23 - 1/30 Biden +1
                      Emerson 1/21 - 1/23 Tie
                      ABC News/Wash Post 1/20 - 1/23 Biden +4
                      LA Times/USC 1/15 - 1/28 Biden +9
                      FOX News 1/19 - 1/22 Biden +9
                      CNN 1/16 - 1/19 Biden +9

                      You, meantime, don't link to anything and attempt to impeach sources with Wikipedia entries?

                    • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

                      Why don't we check back in two weeks or so. I'm willing to bet, by then, that the Iowa caucus will have been forced to admit that Bernie won.

                      No, you're not willing to bet. Just like you're not willing to admit that you're wrong. You simply want to put off the day of reckoning until nobody will notice.

                      "The results that Bernie has don't match..." Pssht. Per the New York Times [nytimes.com]:

                      Some of these inconsistencies may prove to be innocuous, and they do not indicate an intentional effort to compromise or rig the res

        • he's ahead 6000 votes and there's not enough left for Pete to win. Also Biden's Bidone (I never get tired of that joke) and Bernie's now projected to win every Super Tuesday state except Alabama & SC, both of which he's likely to tie and he might even end up wining. Hell, if the DNC hadn't cheated him of his Iowa victory lap he _would_ win them.

          America's tired of being sold out. We tired Donald Trump and he sold us out. Yeah, shoulda seen that coming, but we did learn.
          • by guruevi ( 827432 )

            It doesn't matter what the raw vote was, Buttigieg will get the same amount of delegates that Sanders does.

            Mayor Cheat won.

          • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

            he's ahead 6000 votes and there's not enough left for Pete to win.

            It's not a statewide popular vote contest. Neither is the presidential election. And with 100% of the precincts reporting [cnn.com], Buttigieg leads in state delegates.

            Goodnight.

          • by stdarg ( 456557 )

            Who did Trump sell out to? "Russia?"

            Weak talking point.

            • and the ruling class. He gave them $1 trillion of your dollars. If you let him keep doing that you'll lose everything. Protection for pre-existing conditions will go first. Then Social Security & Medicare. Then as you age and need medical care you'll sell everything to stay alive. Right around that time shortages of clean water will hit (due to climate change & infrastructure problems) and the 1% will sell it to you at a premium. But you'll be out of money and eventually die of legionaries disease.
              • by stdarg ( 456557 )

                Billionaires are pretty well divided in who they support. The top billionaires, mostly in tech, are mostly anti-Trump. There are several billionaires running for the Democratic nomination right now, and no, I don't buy that they are all in some big secret cabal and parties don't matter and votes don't count etc. They fucking hate Trump, because Trump embarrasses them.

                What's the ruling class? The political establishment that just impeached Trump on bullshit charges? The Republican establishment that controll

            • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • but he lost the Victory Lap, which is the only real point of wining a smaller state like Iowa (besides that Bernie genuinely wants to help the people of Iowa, but I mean, come on, who does that when there are wine caves to see?).

        By the way, it didn't work, Bernie is projected to win every Super Tuesday state except Alabama & South Carolina. Yeah, it'll still be a tough fight (he's going to be beating back cheating in every district) but he just raised $25 million in January, so he's got the money to
      • by lgw ( 121541 ) on Thursday February 06, 2020 @09:24PM (#59700164) Journal

        While Pete did donate the most of any candidate tot he Shadow app development, so it's no surprise he won, the bigger picter is: most of the funding for Shadow came from ... George Soros.

        This whole thing is as suspicious as it gets. An app going bad? Sure, maybe. But Bernie is ahead on the exit polls and then, suddenly, the news media pulls down all their exit polls, the announcement is made that "the app is bad" and everythign gows dark for hours. And then, out of the blue, Pete gives an acceptance speech despite being 3rd in the exit polls. And, sure enough, Pete has leapfrogged over Warren and Bernie when the "results" come in.

        It could not be more clear that Soros had been backing Biden, and when it became obvious that dog would hunt, he got on the "bat phone" and the media and party leaders all fell in line to coronate George's new appointee.

        Well, we'll see what happens in New Hampshire, but at this point it wouldn't be a joke if Russia offered to send neutral observers like they did in 2000 to mock us. It's not who votes that counts, but who counts the votes.

        • by msauve ( 701917 )
          "This whole thing is as suspicious as it gets. An app going bad? Sure, maybe. But Bernie is ahead on the exit polls and then, suddenly, the news media pulls down all their exit polls, the announcement is made that "the app is bad" and everythign gows dark for hours."

          That's it. I'm investing in tin foil futures tomorrow.
          • by lgw ( 121541 )

            Yeah, the idea that the political process in America is corrupt is totally a crazy conspiracy theory. *rolls eyes*

    • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

      The only question is will they get away with it again and stuff somebody like Biden or Buttigieg or Bloomberg down our throats.

      Keep turning more and more Democratic voters away from Sanders with the Bernie bro rage. Everyone's conspiring against Bernie, and according to you guys it really is everyone, Buttigieg, Warren, Biden, IDP, DNC...

      BTW: Buttigieg is effectively tied with 97% of the precincts reporting. Iowans liked him as much as Bernie. Deal with it.

      • by drnb ( 2434720 )

        Everyone's conspiring against Bernie, and according to you guys it really is everyone, Buttigieg, Warren, Biden, IDP, DNC...

        Not everyone, just the democrat insiders which includes those you list. Yes, including Warren, who is as authentic a progressive as she is an authentic Native American, authentic public school mom, an authentic Republican Party member (registered as such for many years), etc.

        Of course to be fair to these real democrats, Bernie isn't a real democrat. He is a lifelong independent and lifelong self-described socialist. A democrat only for election time ballot purposes. So a little resentment against him wou

        • and Americans will hate her for it. Americans do not like or respect teachers. They talk down to us, make us do homework, get us in trouble with our parents and sometimes get us beaten by our parents.

          Is that fucked up? You bet. Should it be that way? Hell no. Should we do something about that? Hell yes.

          But none of that changes Warren's electabilty. She needed to pivot away from school mom and into something else. Or she needed to find a way to get every single women in America who didn't vote last t
          • Or she needed to find a way to get every single women in America who didn't vote last time to come out and vote.

            What makes you think women vote merely on gender? Women, like men, may consider authenticity. Something both Hillary and Warren lack. Might I suggest an alternative? A female candidate who is authentic, who did not rise to power on her husband's coattails or through lies. One who genuinely ascended on her own. Here's an added bonus, such a female candidate will likely be better prepared to win.

            • by stdarg ( 456557 )

              It sounds to me that you're describing someone like Carly Fiorina. The big thing she, Clinton, and Warren are missing is charisma. I think the first female president may end up coming from a different sort of background like acting or comedy, which would let her express a different personality type than successful male politicians (except Trump to some degree). I think it'll be very hard for women to compete with men on their own terms, where being tough, independent, firm speaking, and self-made is admired

              • It sounds to me that you're describing someone like Carly Fiorina.

                Personally I lean towards moderate Republicans or Conservative or Blue Dog Democrats and the first woman among those categories that comes to mind is former New Jersey Governor and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman. She also worked for the Office of Economic Opportunity. She advocates for moderate positions within the Republican Party.

        • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

          Not going to trade one cult leader for another. Sorry. You're just confirming my decision to support other Democrat candidates over yours.

      • by lgw ( 121541 )

        Everyone's conspiring against Bernie, and according to you guys it really is everyone, Buttigieg, Warren, Biden, IDP, DNC...

        Probably not Warren. The rest are in Soros's pocket. Warren was ahead of Pete, so if she was "dependable" she would have been anointed winner. But Pete was the next down the line who George could count on, so he was blessed. It's not a conspiracy of the people you listed, as none of them are in charge. It's a conspiracy of Soros and his less-known friends, the American "old money" who don't care to be known. The actual establishment politicians, both Democrat and Republican, may be sincere enough, but

    • by msauve ( 701917 )
      " it just so happens Bernie is likely to win Iowa."

      Actually, it's likely that Bernie and Pete will tie, with the same number of pledged delegates. If the party wants to skew the results, they'd do so using unpledged delegates at the convention.
      • the Satellites were set up to favor Bernie with the assumption that voter turn out in them would be very, very low.

        And the goal isn't to skew the results, it's to deprive Bernie of the Iowa Victory lap. It worked. We're splitting hairs when Bernie should be in the news as the winner. Iowa doesn't have enough delegates to matter in the actual race. The reason it matters is many voters want to vote for the winner and whoever wins the early states gets those voters.

        This is a scam. A setup. We've been h
        • You're the one lying there and taking it. Again. You tell us why you don't do something about it.

          Could it be that the entire foundation of Socialist/Communist belief is that someone else will do the work for you?

        • The news media wouldn't cover his victory anyways so it hardly matters. They tend to ignore him in general, but with both the State of the Union and the Trump impeachment vote this week, the Iowa caucus results were going to be drown out regardless.
        • by guruevi ( 827432 ) on Thursday February 06, 2020 @08:46PM (#59700074)

          Shouldn't Bernie redistribute the votes so it's all fair and honest?

        • by stdarg ( 456557 )

          I sympathize with you, Bernie really does get screwed over and over by the DNC and the media. It was actually hilarious when the Iowa results were delayed and everyone was tied at 0% and I read articles saying "Buttigieg and Bloomberg are the real winners here!"

          That said, aren't you disappointed with how weak Bernie is in the face of this sort of cheating? I semi-supported Bernie in 2016 (would have voted for him over any Republican other than Trump), but his weakness is really annoying. Remember "Enough ab

    • by Train0987 ( 1059246 ) on Thursday February 06, 2020 @06:47PM (#59699706)

      Bernie had more voters than he needed so they just redistributed a few to the other candidates who needed them more. You know, the basis of his entire f'ing platform. Suck it up, nobody needs as much as he had.

    • It doesn't matter who comes in first. Iowa is about weeding out the people who don't manage to break 1%. Anyone in double digits can consider it a win.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by blindseer ( 891256 )

      and it just so happens Bernie is likely to win Iowa. It's pretty clear to anyone who's been paying attention what's going on. The goal is to make sure Bernie doesn't get the post Iowa winning news cycle. CNN has already ran stories that indicate Buttigieg won (while 62% of the vote was out) and then took all discussion of the primary off their front page.

      This does look very sketchy and I do have to wonder if there wasn't some people tossing wrenches in the works to keep Bernie from coming in first or second. Sanders is not from New Hampshire but from a neighboring New England state and this gives him something of a "home field" advantage. If he shows as winning in Iowa, then again in New Hampshire, then this gives him momentum in following states, which could prove devastating for the more moderate candidates running. If Sanders does not win in New Hamps

      • by stdarg ( 456557 )

        I think the most dangerous ticket for Trump would be Bloomberg/Buttigieg. I used to think Sanders would be tough to beat but there is just so much division in the Democratic party when it comes to him, I don't think he can pull it together and turn out the vote enough to win. I think his main problem is he's running in the extreme progressive wing of the party but he's the wrong gender and race to really excite a big portion of the progressives. You have the Bernie bros who actually care about issues, but a

    • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday February 06, 2020 @07:17PM (#59699814)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • The DNC has explained that regardless of who 'wins' in any primary, the DNC can and will run whichever candidate they choose to run. I believe this went to court since the 2016 election cycle, and this was established as fact. The DNC is not, regardless of the trappings and lip service, and democratic institution. Bernie does not stand a chance, head-to-head with Trump in 2020. The moderates are simply NOT ready for Bernie, not yet anyway. Turnout in Iowa for the Dems was low, or at least not high enou
      • by Kaenneth ( 82978 )

        From his speeches, Trump sounds afraid of Sanders as an opponent.

        • by drnb ( 2434720 )

          From his speeches, Trump sounds afraid of Sanders as an opponent.

          Oh, so you believe what Trump says on TV are his honest beliefs and intentions? ;-)

        • Trump: "We have a great economy, a perfect economy, bigly working for everyone. Crazy Bernie, can you name a country with a socialist economy that we should emulate?"

          Bernie: "No one knows, just like how much I will spend on Medicare for All! But someone else will pay for it so it's OK"

          Trump: Mic Drop.

      • If the DNC force feeds us another shitty candidate, it'll guarantee another four years of "you know who".

    • by Cylix ( 55374 )

      They don't need to get away with anything.

      They can't literally just appoint whoever they want. Today, it is a little less obvious. The real point of having so many different variations of crazy is just to draw voters is in and then unify them. The unify thing is more like barb wire and a rusty drill used to lobotomize the subjects. It was for the best anyway.

      Why bother going to the polls if there is no chance in the dice throw? In that same vein, why bother voting democrat for that matter.

    • What CNN are you going to? I was checking the CNN website all day and the constantly showed that Bernie only lagged Buttigieg by about .1%. They did show a story last night saying Buttigieg had declared victory before the count had even really started, but they made clear it was a premature declaration.

    • The goal is to make sure Bernie doesn't get the post Iowa winning news cycle. CNN has already ran stories that indicate Buttigieg won

      So, the Democratic Party is agonizing in choosing an openly gay [mediaite.com] vs. an openly Communist?..

      What a show!

    • This is all a fix. Just like 2016. The only question is will they get away with it again and stuff somebody like Biden or Buttigieg or Bloomberg down our throats.

      Next step, declaring that Bernie has had Russian assistance. News at 10.

    • Don't worry, they will. If Bloomberg doesn't buy the election, as he's desperately trying to do, we'll get plain, boring middle-of-the-road Buttigieg. I can already see Trump's attacks on him. "He's an evil homosexual and a fake Christian". People in this country are so fucking stupid that it just might work. Get ready for 4 more years of the worst President this country has ever seen. It's going to be as fun as being shot in the face.

    • Buttigieg is head 1.5% with 100% reporting in... except that there are "mistakes" totaling 2.0% in favor of Bernie. Funny that. For those of you playing at home Hillary won by a similar margin in 2016. Imagine that.

      The goal was always to rob Bernie of his Victory Lap. Worked. Buttigieg is up 9 pts in NH. We all got played.
      • by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

        Buttigieg is head 1.5% with 100% reporting in... except that there are "mistakes" totaling 2.0% in favor of Bernie.

        Source-free reporting by the Bernie bro commenter. Surprised again.

  • Fuck Off (Score:4, Insightful)

    by sexconker ( 1179573 ) on Thursday February 06, 2020 @06:28PM (#59699660)

    There's no evidence that hackers intercepted or tampered with caucus results.

    There's no evidence that hackers intercepted or tampered with caucus results.

    There's no evidence that hackers intercepted or tampered with caucus results.

    There's no evidence that hackers intercepted or tampered with caucus results.

    There's no evidence that hackers intercepted or tampered with caucus results.

    The DNC is a shit show, but we all know it's intentional. There's no reason to stir up shit when the pot doesn't even exist.
    Unicorns COULD have flown out of BeauHD's ass this morning.

  • The app was a side channel to help get a faster result to media! Itâ(TM)s a mess, but it didnâ(TM)t not change the outcome and had no influence of the cast vote or the counting!
    • That's what I claimed would happen, but it disrupted a giant amount of reporting and momentum. If it had been intentional it would be extremely successful. Enough that I'm actually wondering if someone intentionally paid nothing, gave a short timeline, and hired amateurs.

  • Editor: fix your headline; "could" might reasonably be misinterpreted as "might". There is no evidence, IIRC, that the vulnerabilities were actually exploited, although now we'd better look into that too.

    I was looking at a paper the other day that claimed about 75% of smartphone apps have an identifiable security flaw (most often insecure storage), and about 40% have flaws that the researchers described as "high risk".

    We also know from a story yesterday that the app appears to include a lot of tutorial cod

  • I assume all apps are hacked.
  • This is how you kill a democracy.

    Initiate the idea that: "There's no point in voting because it's all rigged anyway."

    • Shit, in California, we had one choice for Senator last election (Harris). I get one choice for board of supervisors (unopposed), the governor declares an "emergency" for the gas tax continuance and diverts the earmarked tax to the "train to nowhere".

      Tell me "my vote counts".

  • New it! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Train0987 ( 1059246 )

    It was The Russians! after all!!!! See?!?!?! TRUUUUMP!!!!

    Fools.

    • You do realize that Senator Sanders had his honeymoon in Russia, don't you?

      There's going to be serious and not so serious claims of Russia interfering with the elections. I assume this is true because it would be in their best interests to mess with our elections, Russia becomes stronger with a weakened USA.

      Just think who Russia would like to see in the White House though. Just think just how much Russia likes Trump compared to someone like Sanders. Trump is making the military stronger, killed terrorist

      • Yes I do realize all of that. The reason Hillary's campaign invented The Russians! hoax in the first place was to discredit Bernie going into the 2016 DNC nominating convention the week after her campaign emails were leaked.

        Jokes.

      • by Kaenneth ( 82978 )

        LOL, you think Russia is Communist still?

        • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

          by drnb ( 2434720 )

          LOL, you think Russia is Communist still?

          No, but Bernie is. Plus Bernie didn't really just honeymoon in Russia, he honeymooned in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) at the height of the Cold War. That's a little more complicated than gong to Russia in more modern times.

  • Very nice analysis. [medium.com]
    Little remains to be said.

  • Maybe it wasn't hacking. Maybe it was just awful programming of spaghetti code from the same people that brought us Hillary's bathroom email servers. This is the most simple and likely answer.

    After all, they knew that Russian hacking (or whoever) was a possibility - but yet they seemingly failed to prepare for it and have a backup plan??

  • Is the vulnerability that the payload wasn't encrypted, and that it was just using TLS? That's not really a vulnerability.

    Ideally the payload should have been signed with the precinct code, PIN, and 2FA code.

    What's strange is that the NYT is showing vote discrepancies from the manual count. Maybe the app was fine, and the upstream validation was rejecting the data because it was bad? When you have tired people entering data you get errors.

  • Oh wait.. here it comes. It was hacked by...... Russia?
  • So either they failed by using an untested, secretive application, developed in a rush and riddled with bugs - or they did a stellar job with the app, but they were hacked by a state actor with advanced knowledge of the app. Meaning the DNC is compromised.
    Ockham's razor says it will be the first. But the second would actually be worse.

  • One of the elected officials may have been overheard saying that they told them they were going to overload the internet tubes of they weren't careful. Sage advice from our learned leaders.

    What a fucking joke.

  • So the DNC paid $60K for this app. Did they really think it would be built on solid security principles? For $60K, you can throw together a quick-and-dirty app, but certainly not one that has to stand up to attack!

Keep up the good work! But please don't ask me to help.

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