ELECTION SECURITYVoting from Your Sofa Is Secure Enough – but Will It Be Allowed?
A new electronic voting system developed at NTNU can withstand attacks from quantum computers, meaning digital elections can be conducted securely, even in the future.
Norway’s national elections are approaching, and most Norwegians will probably have to visit the polling stations again this year in order to cast their votes. The reason for this is that despite Norway wanting to become the most digital country in the world, it is still far from conducting fully digital elections.
However, new cryptographic techniques will provide enough security to enable electronic elections to be held in the future. If politicians support online electronic voting, NTNU will be able to provide help.
“We have developed a quantum-resistant electronic voting system,” said Tjerand Silde, an associate professor at NTNU’s Department of Information Security and Communication Technology.
The new system ensures that voting with a keystroke remains just as secret, reliable and secure as pen and paper.
Secure, Efficient, Electronic
He and his colleagues have designed a system that can replace the current technology used to keep voting information secret.
The researchers have proven that the system is secure even against the super-fast quantum computers that are likely just around the corner. In theory, these computers will be able to crack current cryptography, allowing information about who voted for what to be misused in the future.
Replacing the current systems is a big job.
“But now that process can actually begin, based on our contributions. It is possible to build a new system that ensures we can also vote electronically in a secure way in the future,” Silde said.
The article ‘More Efficient Lattice-Based Electronic Voting from NTRU’ was published in IACR Communications in Cryptology this winter.
Threats from Quantum Computers
Switzerland, Estonia, France and Australia have already introduced digital elections. Silde says these countries have robust systems that ensure votes cannot be traced back to individual voters. These countries are taking concrete steps to preserve trust, with systems in motion to ensure that everything works as it should and to guarantee that the results are accurate.
The big challenge, however, is quantum computers, which pose a serious threat to digital elections.
“In a few years, everyone will have to switch to quantum-resistant cryptography. Our research lays the foundation for enabling e-voting in the future. Our system is secure, although it is less efficient than the current systems. But the conventional systems will be insecure in the future anyway,” said Silde.
Huge Advantages – and Disadvantages
Companies like IBM, Google and Microsoft are developing quantum computers, and OsloMet already has two of them (in Norwegian). These types of computers can solve specific mathematical problems in a very short time.
