The results are in: All e-voting machines vulnerable to software attacks

Report finds wireless components seen as being particularly at risk.

All three of the nation's most commonly used electronic voting systems are vulnerable to software attacks - attacks that could affect the outcome of local or national elections.

That's the key finding from a report issued by the Brennan Center Task Force on Voting Systems Security out of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.

"These machines are vulnerable to attack. That's the bad news," says Michael Waldman, the Brennan Center's executive director, in a statement. "The good news is that we know how to reduce the risks and the solutions are within reach."

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All three of the nation's most commonly used electronic voting systems are vulnerable to software attacks - attacks that could affect the outcome of local or national elections.

That's the key finding from a report issued by the Brennan Center Task Force on Voting Systems Security out of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.

"These machines are vulnerable to attack. That's the bad news," says Michael Waldman, the Brennan Center's executive director, in a statement. "The good news is that we know how to reduce the risks and the solutions are within reach."

The study looked at electronic machines with and without voter-verified paper trails, plus precinct-counted optical scan systems. Government, private sector researchers, voting machine experts and security pros investigated the machines, surveying hundreds of election officials around the United States and categorizing 120 security threats.

Findings include:

* The systems are vulnerable to the injection of corrupt software or attack programs designed to take over a machine.
* Automatic audits are necessary.
* Wireless components are particularly at risk of infiltration, and the report recommends banning such components.
* Most states haven’t implemented measures to detect software attacks.

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