Perspective: Election securityVoting-Machine Parts Made by Foreign Suppliers Stir Security Concerns
Voting machines which are widely used across the United States contain parts made by companies with ties to China and Russia, researchers found, raising anxious questions about the security of voting machines which use overseas suppliers. Several government agencies are now looking into the issue. Alexa Corse writes that a report issued Monday by Interos Inc., an Arlington, Virginia-based supply-chain monitoring company, says that voting-machine vendors could be at risk of using insecure components from overseas suppliers which generally are difficult to vet and monitor.
Voting machines which are widely used across the United States contain parts made by companies with ties to China and Russia, researchers found, raising anxious questions about the security of voting machines which use overseas suppliers. Several government agencies are now looking into the issue.
Alexa Corse writes in the Wall Street Journal that a report issued Monday by Interos Inc., an Arlington, Virginia-based supply-chain monitoring company, says that voting-machine vendors could be at risk of using insecure components from overseas suppliers which generally are difficult to vet and monitor.
“The findings are likely to fan worries about whether voting-machine vendors are doing enough to defend themselves against foreign interference ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections, which U.S. intelligence officials say hostile powers could try to disrupt,” Corse writes.
Corse adds:
The report comes as U.S. lawmakers and national-security officials increasingly have sounded alarms about supply-chain risks. Although supply chains that span the globe are common in the tech industry, Russia and China pose concerns because of how, according to U.S. officials, they press companies for access to technology within their borders.
Washington lawmakers have specifically cited voting machines as an area of concern, among such other products as telecom equipment made by Chinese firm Huawei and antivirus software from Russia-based Kaspersky Lab.
“Technology is created in different parts of the world, and you may not be able to avoid working with those businesses,” Jennifer Bisceglie, founder and CEO of Interos, told Corse. “But just asking those questions” can help companies mitigate risk in sensitive countries, she said.
Corse notes that lawmakers in Indiana passed a law requiring that voting-system vendors disclose certain foreign ties, among other security measures. In North Carolina, officials asked vendors to provide details about their ownership and vetted that information with the federal Department of Homeland Security. Maryland has also imposed limits on the involvement of foreign companies in supplying parts for voting machines.
