A new investigation reveals that dozens of U.S. voting systems were connected to the internet, despite official claims to the contrary.
For years, U.S. officials have assured the public that voting machines are not connected to the internet, reinforcing confidence in election security. But a team of independent cybersecurity experts recently discovered otherwise. Their findings? At least 35 U.S. voting systems were online, potentially exposing election infrastructure to hackers.
Kevin Skoglund, a senior advisor at the National Election Defense Coalition, led the investigation. “We kept hearing from election officials that voting machines were never on the internet,” he told NBC News. “And we knew that wasn’t true.”
Using specialized tools, the team found that central computers responsible for programming voting machines and managing election data were indeed accessible online. Among the manufacturers implicated was ES&S, which confirmed selling scanners with wireless modems in at least 11 states, including swing states Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida. These modems, intended to speed up result reporting, connect to cellular networks—which, in turn, link to the internet.
Princeton professor and election security expert Andrew Appel warns that such modems are a serious vulnerability. “Once a hacker starts talking to the voting machine through the modem, they can hack the software and make it cheat in future elections.”
Despite these alarming revelations, election officials continue to downplay concerns. ES&S maintains that their systems are protected by firewalls, but experts argue that no firewall is impenetrable. The presence of modems also raises questions about federal certification, as modified machines may no longer meet security standards.
With another major election on the horizon, cybersecurity experts are calling for immediate action. Their recommendation? Disconnect all voting machines from the internet—permanently.
Want to know how this could impact future elections? Click the link to read more from NBC News.
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