E-voting firm reports computer break-in

Federal authorities investigating VoteHere intrusion

MSNBC.COM EXCLUSIVE
By Alan Boyle
Science editor
Dec. 29, 2003

BELLEVUE, Wash. - A company developing encryption-based software for secure electronic voting has itself become the victim of a computer break-in, the company’s top executive told MSNBC.com. Federal authorities have confirmed that the incident is under investigation.

The intrusion into Bellevue-based VoteHere’s corporate network occurred in October, said Jim Adler, VoteHere’s founder, president and chief executive officer. No suspects have yet been named, but Adler said his company, in cooperation with investigators, had developed substantial information about the source of the intrusion over the past two months.

“We feel that it may have been politically motivated,” Adler said.

Adler’s revelation came amid a deepening debate over e-voting and its vulnerability to election fraud — and a controversy over surreptitious methods to get information about how e-voting software works.

E-voting firm reports computer break-in