Topic: California white hat hackers: 3, Diebold and friends: 0

[Security l33t]

In a move which will bolster your undoubtedly high sensations of "faith" in the US voting process, a group of University of California researchers have just hacked their way through security on nearly every voting machine certified by the state of California.

According to Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who initiated these tests, the team was able to "bypass physical and software security in every machine they tested." The group, which was sanctioned by the state, was given full access to the machines, as well as their source code and manuals, leaving some to argue that the test doesn't accurately depict how vulnerable the machines are -- because we all know how hard it is for hackers to get their hands on that kind of stuff.

The report will affect whether or not Bowen approves the systems for use throughout California in its upcoming presidential primaries. It looks like 2008 is going to be an exciting year, to say the least