Prof. leads E-voting debate
By Francesca Hansen
March 26, 2004
When sophomore Asheesh Laroia had concerns about posting e-mails criticizing the security of the online voting system, he turned to the nation's leading export on Internet voting, less than a 10 minute's walk away in the Wyman Park Building. Avi Rubin, the national expert on electronic voting and technical director of Hopkins' Information Security Institute has become Hopkins most-oft quoted expert, with appearances on everything from The Today Show, CNN and NBC Nightly News and most recently, this month's Vanity Fair. "I get calls from reporters at least three, four times a day. And that's a slow day," said Rubin.

Launching the Kansas native to international fame was his discovery in July of 2003 that one could break the Internet voting system, something that Rubin said took him and his students"less than two weeks. Within hours we had found a weakness."

Rubin said he felt ambivalent about this spike in his fame and often struggles to complete his basic research. "I've become the e-voting guy, which I'm not too thrilled about. But it's something that's important and of concern to a lot of people."

Diebold was equally concerned about the company's negative publicity. The Internet voting company recently sold its voting systems to Maryland at a cost of a little over $55 million, despite Rubin's warnings. The company then sent the professor a "threatening" letter. "It told me not to look at the system anymore, not to comment publicly, or I would suffer the consequences," insuing that Diebold may sue for slander, he said. All charges went through Hopkins' legal counsel, although he added,"They didn't have a leg to stand on."

The 37-year old researcher is now headed towards Congress next week to ask for a $10 million grant to create a center for e-voting study, in cooperation with six other universities, including Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley and Rice University. As is, Rubin is actively involved with meetings with legislators, including the Committee on Government Reform, some of which even have access to his cell phone for briefings. "It's very interesting for me to meet with legislators and actually have an impact," he said.

On Hopkins campus, the national e-voting issue was first brought by Asheesh Laroia who had his Internet revoked by the University in November for posting memos from Diebold officials that expressed concern over the security of the e-voting system.

Diebold had issued a 'cease and desist' order to other students that had posted the notices, citing that they were illegally obtained. Although Hopkins never received the cease and desist order, Provost Steven Knapp in the Dec. 5 edition of the News-Letter, the posting of the memos, "according to the best legal advice available to us, would violate the law," as the memo case circulated through the courts.

Rubin, who had supported Laroia in the past, re-asserted his support for the activist sophomore.

"I think it's important to do what he's doing but within the legal structure. That's why we're here. I don't think he went outside his boundaries. I also understand his frustrations," Rubin said.

As for actions students can take, Rubin urges students to become an election judge and supported efforts such as True Vote Maryland, a "grassroots effort to fight non-verifiable voting."

While he said that throwing out the e-voting system is "not gonna happen," he said his goal is to make the Internet system safe. "We have to work with them to make it better."

In a Mar. 10 editorial in The Washington Post, Rubin said, "Yet as a computer scientist, I believe that the fundamental design of the Diebold machines is unsound. In our haste to replace old technology, we should not settle for flawed electronic systems that risk the integrity of our election process. We can design better voting systems."

"I had trouble fitting in pre-med classes. Basically, the computer class fit my schedule and I wouldn't have to walk back and forth to the dorm, so I took it, and it was my favorite class."