: News

Filed Under:

Security Test For D.C. Voting Site Shows Foreign Hacker Activity

By: Patrick Madden // October 9, 2010
Play associated audio
comments

By Patrick Madden

The university professor that hacked into the District's board of elections Web site as part of a sanctioned security test says he wasn't the only one poking around.

University of Michigan Professor Alex Halderman says when he and his graduate students hacked into the board's Web site and embedded the school's fight song onto the Web page, they observed other hackers from China and Iran attacking the server as well.

Halderman does not believe the hackers were specifically targeting D.C., but he says it does demonstrate how vulnerable online voting is.

"The scientific consensus is that Internet voting is just too dangerous today based on the limits of today’s security technology," he says.

Halderman says he believes it will be decades until Internet voting is secure.

Arts & Culture

NPR

A Read Down Memory Lane: Lessons From Your Former Self

Writings from childhood — cards, stories and other notes — can hide for decades, like time capsules tucked away in boxes, old bedrooms, attics and journals. Writer Jim Sollisch talks about how old thank you notes from his youth foreshadowed his adult life.

Food

NPR

Inside A Tart Cherry Revival: 'Somebody Needs To Do This!'

The revival is partly based on the humble sour fruit's growing reputation as a superfood. And in Michigan, a scientist is on a quest to introduce a whole new world of hardier, tastier tart cherries by breeding American trees with ancestral varieties from Eastern Europe.

Politics

NPR

Srinivasan's Confirmation First For D.C. Circuit In 7 Years

The partisan war over judicial nominees has accelerated in recent years. It took nearly a year to win Senate confirmation for Sri Srinivasan to the important federal appeals court for the District of Columbia, though he had no formal opposition.

Technology

NPR

3-D Printer Makes Life-Saving Splint For Baby Boy's Airway

A 3-D printer is being credited with helping to save an Ohio baby's life, after doctors "printed" a tube to support a weak airway that caused him to stop breathing. The innovative procedure has allowed Kaiba Gionfriddo, of Youngstown, Ohio, to stay off a ventilator for more than a year.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.