U.S. Midterm Election Series: Voting Machine Security

Product Serial: B-2022-10-10a

TLP:CLEAR

In this brief, ZeroFox Intelligence explores voting technologies in the U.S. and recommendations for securing them.

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Scope Note

ZeroFox Intelligence is derived from a variety of sources, including—but not limited to—curated open-source accesses, vetted social media, proprietary data sources, and direct access to threat actors and groups through covert communication channels. Information relied upon to complete any report cannot always be independently verified. As such, ZeroFox applies rigorous analytic standards and tradecraft in accordance with best practices and includes caveat language and source citations to clearly identify the veracity of our Intelligence reporting and substantiate our assessments and recommendations. All sources used in this particular Intelligence product were identified prior to 5:00 PM (EDT) on October 6, 2022; per cyber hygiene best practices, caution is advised when clicking on any third-party links.

Executive Summary

The integrity of votes cast in U.S. elections has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, with partisans of both major political parties calling the outcomes of high-visibility races into question over allegedly-flawed processes. While investigations to date have not yielded evidence of malicious actors decisively altering voter registration records or voting results, vulnerable practices and technology have been identified in a number of voting systems. Most identified vulnerabilities can be addressed, if not prevented, through a combination of physical and digital access controls, timely software patching, and consistent “air-gapping” of systems. The security practices of individual states administering election systems are not always evident, however, indicating some vulnerability in the U.S. electoral process as a whole.

Election systems have numerous sensitive components, including voter registration databases, electronic polling books, voting machines, and ballot scanners. The scope of this report is limited to voting equipment used at polling locations and ballot-counting facilities. The risk under consideration is the likelihood of a malicious actor tampering with the equipment, software, or physical ballots used to cast and record votes so that vote tallies do not correspond with the voters’ selections.