Blockchain-Based E-Voting Systems
Discussion
B. Holmes:
"A voted ballot sent through the Internet is exposed to a number of security threats, including cyber-attacks such as modification in transit, denial of service, spoofing, automated vote buying, and viral attacks on voter PCs.
Blockchain companies have been exploring this puzzle, and some are offering cutting edge technology solutions." (http://bravenewcoin.com/news/blockchain-voting-systems-offer-transparency-and-security/)
Examples
B. HoLmes:
V-Initiative
B. Holmes:
"V-Initiative, a New York based company, has been focusing on delivering open-source voting solutions based on Bitcoin’s blockchain: “Our goal is to be able to distribute 100% fraud proof, 100% anonymous, digital votes so that we can re-imagine the way democracy works in a digital age.”
Although Bitcoin’s blockchain has a vast array of benefits, one drawback as an electoral tool is that it is not anonymous, but pseudonymous, which means that user identity is not fully protected from the public. Pseudonyms, user-IDs and IP addresses can be viewed and possibly traced by other users. To heighten privacy, V-Initiative safeguards voter anonymity by making use of Zero Coin, and zero-knowledge proof cryptography, partnered with the IP masking software, TOR.
“The implementation of such open source code in a voting blockchain scheme would allow for a system that could both verify the authenticity of each vote belonging to a registered voter while totally anonymizing said voter.” (http://bravenewcoin.com/news/blockchain-voting-systems-offer-transparency-and-security/)
Blockchain Technologies Corp
B. Holmes:
"Blockchain Technologies Corp (BTC) is another company hoping to replace temperamental voting systems. “America’s voting machine technology – or lack thereof – is a looming crisis,” states the company. BTC claims to conduct “secure, tamper resistant elections by using the blockchain as a high-tech audit trail to ensure voting records are transparently verifiable and all votes are unique.”
Nick Spanos says: “The blockchain enables so many great things that were never before possible. While many people are focused on financial applications, we are bringing the security and transparency it enables into the election process.”
The company have been showcasing their “Blockchain Apparatus” platform by conducting straw polls after GOP Republican debates around the USA. The voting platform creates non-financial distributed ledger records, and can be customized to accommodate different clients and their needs.
“The core of the technology is the use of the decentralized consensus to ensure integrity of information – the data – that current centralized and human-dependent systems cannot provide without the risk of corruption, malfeasance, or error.” (http://bravenewcoin.com/news/blockchain-voting-systems-offer-transparency-and-security/)