EVMs can be HACKED using mobile OTP? | a genuine question for Dhruv Rathee | Abhi and Niyu

Abhi and Niyu

18 Jun 202412:28

Summary

TLDRThe video script discusses the possibility of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering in elections, debunking myths and false news about it. It highlights various election fraud cases, the security features of EVMs, and the impracticality of hacking them. The script also touches on the Election Commission of India's challenge to political parties to demonstrate EVM hacking, which was unaccepted, and emphasizes the need for educated leaders to understand the technology to avoid baseless allegations.

Takeaways

🗳️ The script discusses the possibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) being hacked and the skepticism around it after election results.
📱 It mentions a claim that EVMs can be unlocked via phone calls, which is dismissed as fake news.
🔒 The script highlights that no one has been able to hack an EVM in the past 10 years, suggesting a high level of security.
🎥 A live demonstration in 2017 by the Aam Aadmi Party showed a prototype machine that could be hacked, but it was not an actual EVM.
🤔 The Election Commission of India challenged political parties to prove that EVMs could be hacked, but no party accepted the challenge.
👮‍♂️ There were instances of fraud and attempts to manipulate votes, but these were attributed to human error, not machine faults.
🛡️ The script explains the EVM's design, which includes a Control Unit and a Ballot Unit, making it different from a regular computer and not easily hackable.
🏗️ The Supreme Court of India has stated that EVMs cannot be hacked and cannot be tampered with, based on a 450-page document.
🏭 The machines are manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronic Corporation of India, with multiple checks to prevent tampering.
🗳️ The EVMs do not have features like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, making remote hacking impossible.
📊 The script emphasizes the complexity and scale of manipulating an entire election, which would require bribing millions of polling staff across diverse locations.

Q & A

What is the claim about EVMs being hackable after election results?
-The claim is that if someone had monitored the election process closely, they might have concluded that the EVMs were hacked, especially since this is the first election in the last 10 years where no one has claimed an EVM hack.
What was the news about unlocking EVMs through a phone?
-The news claimed that EVMs could be unlocked via a phone call, which was later debunked as fake news.
What did the Election Commission of India do in response to the EVM hacking claims?
-The Election Commission of India registered a PIL in the Supreme Court stating that EVMs cannot be hacked and cannot be tempered with, and provided a 450-page document as evidence.
What was the significance of the 2017 Delhi Assembly election regarding EVM hacking?
-During the 2017 Delhi Assembly election, the Aam Aadmi Party demonstrated in a live test that EVMs could be hacked, using a prototype machine to predict and match the results.
How did the Election Commission respond to the challenge of proving that EVMs cannot be hacked?
-The Election Commission organized an open challenge, inviting all political parties to demonstrate how an EVM could be hacked, promising to make improvements based on their findings.
What are the components of an EVM and what is their purpose?
-An EVM consists of a Control Unit (CO) and a Ballot Unit (BU), along with a VVPAT which stands for Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail. The Control Unit records the votes, the Ballot Unit displays the candidates, and the VVPAT provides a paper trail for verification.
How does the VVPAT system work in the context of the voting process?
-After a voter casts their vote on the EVM, the VVPAT prints a slip indicating the candidate selected. This slip is shown for 7 seconds and a beep sound indicates that the vote has been cast, allowing for verification.
What are the technical safeguards in place to prevent EVM tampering?
-EVMs have a one-time programmable chip that prevents reprogramming, and they are not connected to the internet or any external devices, making remote hacking impossible.
Why were EVMs introduced in the Indian election process?
-EVMs were introduced to reduce human interference, which was causing complications such as booth capturing and vote manipulation, as well as to streamline the vote counting process and reduce disputes.
How has the Supreme Court of India addressed the issue of EVM tampering?
-The Supreme Court of India has asked for a law to be made that allows voting through electronic methods, in addition to paper ballots, and has supported the use of EVMs.
What is the process of securing EVMs after voting is completed?
-After voting, EVMs are secured in a strong room with video recording of the process to ensure the integrity of the machines until the vote count takes place.

Outlines

00:00

🔒 Election Fraud and EVM Security Concerns

The paragraph discusses the possibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) being hacked, especially after an election result. It mentions that no one has claimed an EVM hack in the past 10 years, but recent news from a foreign YouTube channel has raised questions. The paragraph also addresses the false news about unlocking EVMs via phone and the small apology issued by the newspaper after publishing a big article. It then delves into various election fraud cases, such as fake voting attempts in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, and the lack of voter validation in West Bengal. The paragraph questions the repeated claims of EVM hacking despite the Election Commission of India's (ECI) challenge to political parties to demonstrate a hack, which no party accepted. It concludes by emphasizing the complexity of hacking an election, which would require manipulating millions of polling staff, not just machines.

05:00

👮‍♂️ The In-depth Process of Voting and EVMs

This paragraph provides a personal account of the voting process at a polling booth, detailing the multiple stages and individuals involved in verifying voter details, identity proof, and the act of voting itself. It explains the role of the Control Unit (CU), Ballot Unit (BU), and Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in ensuring the accuracy of the vote cast. The paragraph highlights the security measures in place, such as the one-time programmable chip in EVMs that prevents tampering and the fact that EVMs are not connected to the internet or electricity, making hacking nearly impossible. It also mentions the Supreme Court's acknowledgment of the ECI's statement that EVMs cannot be hacked or tempered with, and the gradual introduction and improvement of EVMs in India since 1977 to reduce polling booth capturing and counting disputes.

10:02

🛡 The Checks and Balances of India's Voting System

The final paragraph emphasizes the robustness of India's voting system, which includes numerous checks and balances to prevent tampering. It points out that despite various governments and the potential for power misuse, no significant manipulation at a large scale has been found. The paragraph also addresses the impracticality of hacking the entire election system, which would involve bribing a vast number of polling staff across diverse and remote locations. It concludes by stressing the importance of transparency and the responsibility of the Election Commission and the government to suggest and implement a better system, rather than fearing technology. The author invites viewers to share their thoughts on the possibility of EVM hacking in the comments and to share the video to raise awareness about the integrity of the voting process.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡EVM (Electronic Voting Machine)

EVM refers to the electronic devices used for voting in elections, replacing the traditional paper ballots. In the video's context, it is central to the discussion on election integrity and the possibility of hacking, as the script mentions concerns about EVMs being tampered with or hacked post-election results.

💡Hacking

Hacking, in this script, refers to the unauthorized access or manipulation of electronic systems, specifically EVMs in the context of election results. The video discusses the plausibility of EVM hacking and the various claims and demonstrations that have been made to prove or disprove its feasibility.

💡OTP (One-Time Password)

OTP, as mentioned in the script, is a security measure that could potentially be used to unlock an EVM via phone, which is dismissed as fake news. It illustrates the discussion on the security features of EVMs and the myths surrounding their vulnerability.

💡Forgery cases

Forgery cases highlighted in the video script refer to instances of fraudulent voting attempts, such as the case of a 72-year-old woman attempting to vote on behalf of her deceased mother. These cases are used to discuss the broader issue of election fraud and the role of EVMs in preventing such incidents.

💡VVPAT (Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail)

VVPAT is a system that provides a paper trail for electronic voting, allowing voters to verify their vote. The script mentions the implementation of VVPAT systems in 2011 and their verification aspect in 2019, emphasizing the多重 layers of security in the voting process.

💡Manipulation

Manipulation, in the context of the video, refers to the alleged or potential tampering with EVMs to alter election results. The script discusses the difficulty and complexity of such manipulation, given the safeguards in place.

💡Prototype machine

A prototype machine is a preliminary model used for testing and demonstration purposes. The video references a live demonstration in 2017 where a prototype was used to show how an EVM could potentially be hacked, sparking debate on the security of actual voting machines.

💡One-Time Programmable Chip

The One-Time Programmable Chip is a component of the EVM that, once programmed, cannot be altered, ensuring the integrity of the voting process. The script explains that this chip makes tampering with the EVMs difficult.

💡 Booth Capturing

Booth capturing is the act of illegally controlling a polling booth to coerce voters into supporting a particular candidate or party. The script discusses this as a historical issue in Indian elections, which EVMs were introduced to mitigate.

💡Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India is the supreme administrative body responsible for conducting free and fair elections in the country. The video script mentions the commission's role in addressing EVM security concerns and its challenge to political parties to demonstrate EVM hacking.

💡Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial body in the country. In the context of the video, it is mentioned in relation to the court's involvement in endorsing electronic voting methods and its ruling that EVMs cannot be hacked or tempered with.

Highlights

EVMs can potentially be hacked, raising questions about election integrity post-results.

The news of EVM hacking possibility spread through a foreign YouTube channel, though it was later debunked as fake news.

Despite the newspaper's small apology after publishing a big article on EVMs, the internet was already abuzz with the hacking narrative.

The discussion on EVM hacking has persisted despite no concrete action taken so far to address the concerns.

In the 2017 Delhi Assembly elections, a live demonstration showed that EVMs could potentially be hacked using a secret code feed.

The Election Commission of India challenged political parties to prove EVM hacking in an open challenge, but no party accepted the challenge.

EVMs are standalone machines with a one-time programmable chip, making tampering unlikely.

EVMs are not connected to the internet, making remote hacking impossible.

The Supreme Court of India registered a PIL stating that EVMs cannot be hacked and cannot be tempered with.

EVMs are manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronic Corporation of India, with multiple checks at various stages to prevent tampering.

The process of counting votes in EVMs is manual but secure, with video recording for transparency.

EVMs were introduced to reduce booth capturing and human interference in elections, which was a significant issue in the 1950s and 60s.

The VVPAT system was implemented in 2011 to further eliminate the possibility of tampering and add an extra layer of verification.

The Supreme Court in 2019 mandated that a part of the VVPAT should also be verified before declaring the final results.

The speaker argues that hacking the entire Indian election system would be much more complicated than hacking a single machine.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of educating voters and leaders about the security features of EVMs to dispel doubts and misinformation.

The video concludes by stressing the need for continuous improvement in the voting system, embracing technology rather than fearing it.