US election officials worried as hackers break into EVMs
Las Vegas, Aug 12 : Amid the growing debate over whether electronic voting machines (EVMs) are hackable or not, elections officials in the US are worried over the increasing "information warfare" as mid-term polls loom.
According to a CNN report, at the annual "Def Con hacker convention" here over the weekend, state and local election officials who attended the conference saw what hackers can do to voting machines.
"One hacker was essentially able to turn a voting machine into a jukebox, making it play music and display animations," said the report.
"While such hacks are a cause of concern for election officials, they are increasingly looking beyond the threats against traditional election infrastructure like voting machines and voting databases and more to the threat of disinformation," it added.
At the event, nearly 40 child hackers were able to tamper with vote tallies on the mock versions of election board websites, some even changing candidates names to things like "Bob Da Builder" and "Richard Nixon's Head".
"There's always been a concern about the integrity of our elections and there's always been a concern about misinformation, disinformation being disseminated around campaigns," Alex Padilla, California's Secretary of State, was quoted as saying.
This time, the "voting machine hacking village" at the conference featured a new set of voting machines which will be used in the 2018 mid-term elections.
An intense debate is going on in India over the security of EVMs.
As many as 17 parties, including the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, have approached the Election Commission for restoring the paper ballot system in view of their apprehensions over the integrity of the EVMs and the possibility of their manipulation.
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Need to be taught lesson: SC refuses to entertain bail plea of Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case accused
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has refused to entertain the bail plea of Mihir Shah, the son of a former Shiv Sena leader, in the 2024 Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case, saying "these boys need to be taught a lesson".
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih took into account that the accused belonged to an affluent family and his father was associated with the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena.
"He parks his Mercedes in the shed, takes out his BMW and crashes it and goes absconding. Let him be inside for some time. These boys need to be taught a lesson," the bench observed on Friday while refusing to entertain the bail plea.
Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Shah, said the high court allowed him to seek bail after the testimony of key witnesses was recorded in the case. However, sensing the mood of the court, she sought permission to withdraw the plea, which was allowed.
Shah (24) was arrested on July 9 last year, two days after he allegedly rammed his BMW car into a two-wheeler in Mumbai's Worli area, killing Kaveri Nakhwa (45) and leaving her husband, Pradeep Nakhwa, injured.
The accused allegedly sped off towards the Bandra-Worli Sea Link after the accident, even as the woman remained on the bonnet of the car and then got entangled in its wheels for a distance of more than 1.5 kilometres.
Shah's driver, Rajrishi Bidawat, who was also present in the car at the time of the accident, was arrested on the day of the alleged accident. Both are in judicial custody.
Shah has challenged the November 21 order of the Bombay High Court that denied him bail in the case after noting that he was heavily inebriated and failed to stop the car even after hitting a scooter and dragging the victim under his vehicle.
The high court had said in the order that the conduct of the accused at the time of the alleged offence and afterwards does not inspire confidence in the court to grant him bail. It had said that Shah had accidentally crashed into the scooter but sped away at high speed, dragging the victim underneath the car.
His further actions indicate a clear intent to escape the consequences and evade arrest, the high court had noted, adding that his exchanging seats with his driver, calling his father and leaving the scene of offence indicate the predilection to tamper with evidence and/or intimidate witnesses.
