In exclusive stunning admissions to The BRAD BLOG some 11 months after the 2004 Presidential Election, a "Diebold Insider" is now finally speaking out for the first time about the alarming security flaws within Diebold, Inc's electronic voting systems, software and machinery. The source is acknowledging that the company's "upper management" --- as well as "top government officials" --- were keenly aware of the "undocumented backdoor" in Diebold's main "GEM Central Tabulator" software well prior to the 2004 election. A branch of the Federal Government even posted a security warning on the Internet.

Pointing to a little-noticed "Cyber Security Alert" issued by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the source inside Diebold --- who "for the time being" is requesting anonymity due to a continuing sensitive relationship with the company --- is charging that Diebold's technicians, including at least one of its lead programmers, knew about the security flaw and that the company instructed them to keep quiet about it.

"Diebold threatened violators with immediate dismissal," the insider, who we'll call DIEB-THROAT, explained recently to The BRAD BLOG via email. "In 2005, after one newly hired member of Diebold's technical staff pointed out the security flaw, he was criticized and isolated."

In phone interviews, DIEB-THROAT confirmed that the matters were well known within the company, but that a "culture of fear" had been developed to assure that employees, including technicians, vendors and programmers kept those issues to themselves.

The "Cyber Security Alert" from US-CERT was issued in late August of 2004 and is still available online via the US-CERT website. The alert warns that "A vulnerability exists due to an undocumented backdoor account, which could [sic: allow] a local or remote authenticated malicious user [sic: to] modify votes."

The alert, assessed to be of "MEDIUM" risk on the US-CERT security bulletin, goes on to add that there is "No workaround or patch available at time of publishing."

"Diebold's upper management was aware of access to the voter file defect before the 2004 election - but did nothing to correct it," the source explained.

A "MEDIUM" risk vulnerability cyber alert is described on the US-CERT site as: "one that will allow an intruder immediate access to a system with less than privileged access. Such vulnerability will allow the intruder the opportunity to continue the attempt to gain privileged access. An example of medium-risk vulnerability is a server configuration error that allows an intruder to capture the password file."

DIEB-THROAT claims that, though the Federal Government knew about this documented flaw, originally discovered and reported by BlackBoxVoting.org in August of 2004, they did nothing about it.

"I believe that top Government officials had an understanding with top Diebold officials to look the other way," the source explained, "because Diebold was their ace in the hole."...

Great news from today's Oakland Tribune! California, the country's largest voting "market" rejects Diebold. Again...And hopefully for the last time...

The MP3 archives of last Saturday night's BRAD SHOW are now up and well worth listening to (sez me) in case you happened to have missed any of our four jam-packed hours o' delicious radio goodness!

Last week's show featured, amongst other things...

Iraq War vet Paul Rieckhoff of OpTruth.org explaining how the Bush Administration is failing to support the troops.

A segment with David Dixon of the Handicapped Adults of Volusia County which details the $1 million that Diebold seems to have used to pay off the National Federation of the Blind and the $26,000 they seem to have given to the NFB's Jim Dickson to support their paperless touchscreen voting machines all across the country.

Larisa Alexandrovna of RAW STORY on the alleged photos and videos of torture and rape of women and children at Abu Ghraib and/or Gitmo that the Administration is doing everything they can to keep you from seeing.

Former CIA officer --- and Republican! --- Jim Marcinkowski on the White House's unprecedented National Security breach in outting a covert CIA NOC (and he takes a much deserved shot at Ann Coulter in the bargain!)

Congresswoman Maxine Waters who was so on fire after her DSM Town Hall in Los Angles that we even ended up exchanging love vows

And the great Tony Trupiano of his eponymous radio show who spoke that day at Conyers' Detroit DSM event, in a segment which starts off this way (tiny MP3 just to whet your appetite.)

It's all in the BRAD SHOW Archives, in the 7/23/05 section. Enjoy!

(Feel free to help me pay for next week's show. And feel free to buy a T-Shirt, Coffee Mug, Book, Bumper Sticker or Bobblehead in The BRAD STORE while you're at it!)

                  ( 2 so far... )

Article Categories: Diebold/Premier, BRAD SHOW, CIA Leak Case