Why is discussing election security taboo?

I'm a security researcher and enjoy lockpicks. While attending Defcon 30 in Las Vegas this August, I visited the Election Security Village. There were several voting machines available to play around with, including voting and tabulation machines made by ES&S and Diebold. Both of these machines I handled used the same model physical lock, keyed alike. The same key across brands is odd but so be it, election staff aren't keylogging experts after all. I was easily able to rake the locks on both, they're similar to the wafer lock you'd find on a commercial file cabinet. I took a short video of myself picking the Diebold and snapped a quick picture of the key. The same key opens both brands that I handled. Interesting.

Here is where we go down the rabbit hole. I searched for a copy of the key on Ebay. It appears to be a common Illanois N561 master key for commercial washing machines. No big deal, there are fewer and fewer laundrymats these days so they probably have a ton of these lock cylinders floating around. I pay my $35 and order one. What I received is a bad copy, it's shorter and the cuts aren't quite right. I complained to the seller and bought the same key from another vendor. It's an exact match to the picture I took.

Happy with my new purchase, I uploaded a video of me at Defcon 30 picking the lock of a device I was authorized and encouraged to pick. I also posted a pic from a colleague who had gotten Doom to run on another voting machine, classic script kiddie stuff. I also uploaded a pic of my new key and my concerns that voting machines would be so poorly secured with such a common key.

My post was memory holed immediately, no ToS violation notice, no email, no other indication anything is wrong. So I post it again. I'm then immediately banned from the platform, still no explanation why. I contact their support and am told it must be an error. It's not an error. I have been permanently banned from posting on that site, still no email or ToS violation notice, nothing. (The platform rhymes with Rimgur).

Why would authorized, nonpolitical security research pointing out risks to free, open, and fair elections be so thoroughly silenced? That is, unless they're planning to cheat? If your vote really mattered they wouldn't let you do it.

tl/dr voting machines are laughably insecure but mention this publicly and the logical reaction of, "oh my gosh, we need to fix this!" is exactly what you won't get.

a reply to: SentientBunnySuit

That's not very comforting, and also not surprising.

I wonder who they've chosen and will work overtime to convince us we elected them? I know Pelosi, Newsome, Feinstein, Inslee and many others wouldn't still be in office if votes truly counted.

a reply to: SentientBunnySuit

The machines are a giant security risk to the elections from physical to cyber, everyone that has studied them even lightly realizes it hence you get shadow banned and labeled a conspiracy trumper nut qanon cultist for daring to step outside the narrative.

Had to do my final paper for a security management graduate degree on voting machine security, scratch just beneath the surface and nobody is willing to put their reputation on the line to say they are secure except politicians who has no good reputation anyway.

Because it casts doubt on the legitimacy of our elections.

The ease at which the machines can be tampered with has been repeatedly publicised, but as long as the people who run the show can control public perception they can and will continue to say that even though it's possible it's highly unlikely and thus in the realm of conspiracy.

Or some #, but what the hell do I know. I'm some random thought generator on a backwater former conspiracy theory website.

I would think the answer is obvious. You can't rig elections if the elections aren't riggable either at the machine or when "finding" just the right number of ballots.

a reply to: SentientBunnySuit

It's not taboo.

What used to be taboo, was what happened in the bedroom, and discussing politics or religion, especially at dinner table.
However, it seems that has all changed.

Today it is used to control ignorant masses, or brow beat any one who questions alleged authority.

Question every thing political, especially election integrity.
Because if we do not, the same BS will keep happening unchecked.

a reply to: SentientBunnySuit

the need to keep "The Big Lie" alive and not let the public realize that the lie itself was a lie, it still massively important. If it was found that the 2020 elections weren't the safest and most secure elections in the history of man, just think of the power that would give to Trump. And he's the one guy they cannot let get this power.

I made a thread at the beginning of Covid, joking about "what if" 'they' released the virus, and killed the world economy just to get rid of Trump. It was a joke back then, today, I'm almost ready to entertain the idea as a viable plan.

a reply to: network dude

I made a thread at the beginning of Covid, joking about "what if" 'they' released the virus, and killed the world economy just to get rid of Trump.

That's exactly what I pondered at the time and I wasn't joking.

The whole plandemic was a multifaceted project to break any sense of freedom we thought we had left.

My guess is that phase two will arrive if the Republicans somehow win the midterms and the presidency.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
a reply to: SentientBunnySuit

The machines are a giant security risk to the elections from physical to cyber, everyone that has studied them even lightly realizes it hence you get shadow banned and labeled a conspiracy trumper nut qanon cultist for daring to step outside the narrative.

Had to do my final paper for a security management graduate degree on voting machine security, scratch just beneath the surface and nobody is willing to put their reputation on the line to say they are secure except politicians who has no good reputation anyway.

Very well said. I would only add that I sort of expect that the majority of US "voters" have already concluded that the hoped for era of "fair" elections has long since passed. Anymore, voting is just something people do to make themselves feel better about having supported those who died in service to the Nation to preserve their right to vote in bogus elections.

And don't get me wrong. I don't think "all" of the elections are entirely bogus. In many counties across the US, the "local" elections are probably still somewhat "fair" so those are important. As to the State offices, I am not so sure. My State Senator has been in office for 30 years and runs unopposed every 2 years. To my knowledge, no one has ever met the guy and I'm not even sure he's alive.

Because the elections are being rigged.
They don't want anyone asking questions because they think Americans are stupid.
Sadly, their right.
Half the country wouldn't believe it anyway, depending on who lost.
Tribalism.
2016- 50% of Dems- "Election Fraud!"
2020- 50% of Repubs- "Election Fraud!"
Both are right.
The FBI is meddling, Google is meddling, Facebook is meddling, twitter is meddling and the Machines are a JOKE.
There are no "Fair Elections" anymore.
Our Federal Government has become to corrupt to allow that.

Cause its rigged???? its not that complicated. Liars dont want their lies being questioned.

Dont talk about the vax either because thats also #ed up.
Dont talk about testing thousands of nukes cause thats also #ed up.
Dont talk about the governments essentially funding and pushing the very things they're claiming is wrecking the earth, so dont mention that either.

The tactic is the same, you're crazy if you bring up stuff crazy people did and dont wanna be accountable.

Its simple as #.

Why? Because it’s rigged and a lot of people now know so they make talking about it taboo.

Kinda simple actually. It will take nothing less than a war to fix it.

originally posted by: Quadrivium
Because the elections are being rigged.
They don't want anyone asking questions because they think Americans are stupid.
Sadly, their right.
Half the country wouldn't believe it anyway, depending on who lost.
Tribalism.
2016- 50% of Dems- "Election Fraud!"
2020- 50% of Repubs- "Election Fraud!"
Both are right.
The FBI is meddling, Google is meddling, Facebook is meddling, twitter is meddling and the Machines are a JOKE.
There are no "Fair Elections" anymore.
Our Federal Government has become to corrupt to allow that.

Truth. And has been going on far longer than we realize. A fun thing to ask anyone claiming US elections are fair is, "In what other country is gerrymandering legal?" *crickets*

a reply to: TonyS

before the inevitable corruption killed the VPOA the plan was to find races like your state senator and run against them.

but it didnt take long for a thief to rob the treasury, then people got discouraged and everything fell apart right after we managed to get some people elected at the state level in 4 different states.