A Vermont city is piloting new technology aimed at protecting voter data from hackers. The city of Montpelier is implementing a new blockchain program to protect voter roll and 2020 election data. Registration rolls and voter checklists have become a frequent target for foreign hackers trying to influence American elections. “We have to be constantly evaluating, constantly checking our security systems,” said Montpelier City Clerk John Odum. Blockchain technology allows for data to be broken up and scattered, making the information much more difficult to be tampered with. Odum said the pilot program essentially serves as an alarm system for voter data, allowing him to immediately see if any voter information was accessed or altered from an unauthorized source. He described the system as assigning every voter a unique virtual fingerprint. “Even if someone has changed one record of one voter, that fingerprint is dramatically different,” Odum said. “There’s no missing it.” If it is discovered voter information has been tampered with, election workers can switch to hard-copy backup files. “Because of that critical lynchpin that registration plays in kicking off the ability for someone to vote, I think that’s why it’s become so important to focus on that,” said Karen Gardner, chief marketing officer for SEPCA, the international cybersecurity company providing the technology. Montpelier has also enlisted the assistance of a personalized cybersecurity expert to provide one-on-one assistance on Election Day.
A Vermont city is piloting new technology aimed at protecting voter data from hackers.
The city of Montpelier is implementing a new blockchain program to protect voter roll and 2020 election data.
Registration rolls and voter checklists have become a frequent target for foreign hackers trying to influence American elections.
“We have to be constantly evaluating, constantly checking our security systems,” said Montpelier City Clerk John Odum.
Blockchain technology allows for data to be broken up and scattered, making the information much more difficult to be tampered with.
Odum said the pilot program essentially serves as an alarm system for voter data, allowing him to immediately see if any voter information was accessed or altered from an unauthorized source. He described the system as assigning every voter a unique virtual fingerprint.
“Even if someone has changed one record of one voter, that fingerprint is dramatically different,” Odum said. “There’s no missing it.”
If it is discovered voter information has been tampered with, election workers can switch to hard-copy backup files.
“Because of that critical lynchpin that registration plays in kicking off the ability for someone to vote, I think that’s why it’s become so important to focus on that,” said Karen Gardner, chief marketing officer for SEPCA, the international cybersecurity company providing the technology.
Montpelier has also enlisted the assistance of a personalized cybersecurity expert to provide one-on-one assistance on Election Day.