Diebold shell game, "peas" are in windows operating system

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

Diebold Attempts to Evade Election Transparency Laws
Kansas City infoZine, MO - Nov 19, 2005
Raleigh, North Carolina - infoZine - - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is going to court Mov 28th, in North Carolina to prevent Diebold Election Systems, Inc. from evading transparency laws...
http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/11514/

Could Diebold's operating system, (Microsoft) after being "modified" by their programmers, be the shell hiding the peas?

I think Diebold is expecting that no one will realize that they may be have modified the microsoft operating system. According to Diebold memos found unsecured on the internet, Diebold DID modify the microsoft operating system. Diebold also may be wanting to obscure the fact that a convicted embezzler altered their operating system.

Diebold's operating system, while it may be a microsoft product, has been and can be altered by Diebold. Furthermore, a convicted felon did just that to Diebold software, and to the Windows CE operating system used by Diebold (when it was Global Elections Systems). I believe that software is still in use today.

The question is: what software has the means and opportunity to change the contents of vote data? Operating system software, device drivers, application software (like GEMS or the code running on Diebolds in-precint voting machines) all have the means to affect the contents of vote data.


Is Diebold's current operating system the one and same that was modified by Jeffrey Dean, convicted embezzler?

The research I have done shows that the operating system must be examined, that the voting machine companies can and do modify the operating system.

I have articles here from the beginning of Black Box voting, as well as from respected computer scientist Doug Jones of Iowa University.

Since Diebold can and does modify the operating system, we have to see it. Since Diebold has employed convicted embezzlers to write their software, we can leave no stone un-turned.

Article that explains how Diebold alters the Microsoft operating system:

Part of the Voting and Elections web pages
by Douglas W. Jones THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA Department of Computer Science

Furthermore, it is emerging that the version of Windows CE used by Diebold is both heavily customized and full of dynamically loaded libraries. As a result, there are strong grounds for the conclusion that the operating system is not unmodified commercial off the shelf software (COTS), and that with this extensive use of dynamic linkage, we cannot even tell if the system being run on a particular voting machine resembles the system that was disclosed in the configuration documents submitted with this system when it went through the FEC/NASED approval process.
http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/voting/dieboldftp.html


Diebold and other ATM vendors say they're "hardening" the installations of Windows they ship with their ATMs by disabling unnecessary services and ports and removing files that support peripherals http://www.computerworld.com/networkingtopics/networking/story/0,10801,89119,00.html

Diebold patched the Windows CE operating system in Georgia:
"Williams does acknowledge, however, that a month and a half before the November election, he worked with Diebold to apply a patch to the Windows CE operating system. The voting machines run on version 3.0 of Windows CE, he said, and they patched it to correct problems they were having with the system"
http://www.votescam.com/Patchelections.php

Embezzler Programmed Voting System
Tuesday, 23 December 2003, 11:04 am

An embezzler who specialized in sophisticated alteration of records of computerized systems was programming our voting system, and also had access to the printing of the ballots, and ties to the private company that sorts King County absentee ballots...
According to sources within the King County elections office, Dean also had a key to the computer room, the passcode to the GEMS computer, and 24-hour access to the building. Dean sometimes urged upgrades to new, uncertified software right before elections.

.. He also had involvement with the Windows CE operating system used by the touch-screens:
...
More on Jeffrey Dean:
“Defendant’s thefts occurred over a 2 1/2 year period of time, there were multiple incidents, more than the standard range can account for, the actual monetary loss was substantially greater than typical for the offense, the crimes and their cover-up involved a high degree of sophistication and planning in the use and alteration of records in the computerized accounting system that defendant maintained for the victim, and the defendant used his position of trust and fiduciary responsibility as a computer systems and accounting consultant for the victim to facilitate the commission of the offenses.”

..
Jeffrey Dean was released from prison in August, 1995 and Elder was released in November 1996...Jeffrey Dean, when released from prison, had $87 in his inmate account. He was ordered to pay $385,227 in restitution for his embezzlements. For most of us, this would be a crushing financial blow, and we would find it difficult to bankroll a business, yet somehow Dean (and his wife, Deborah M. Dean) managed to become the owners of Spectrum Printing & Mailing. In 2000, Dean’s printing and mailing firm was purchased for $1.6 million by Global Election Systems.

* * * * *
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0312/S00191.htm

[C_U_L8R]

1. Diebold runs on WIndoze ?????

Ay Yi Yi ! No friggin wonder.

:-)

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. Yep, Windows CE and they modify it

Diebold got a republican judge to give them an exemption from
NC's new VVPB law that also requires vendors to turn over all source code.

They want to be exempt from turning over third party software,
which would be the operating system, and other things too.

The judge granted it.

Hart Intercivic also uses Windows as an operating system, and that
may be where the "peas" are hidden.

Sequoia and ES&S have their own operating systems, and can turn that source code over.

Our law in NC also requires the vendors to give the names of the programmers. You know that Diebold doesn't want that.

We go to court Monday, 11/28 with www.EFF.org at our side.

[rumpel]

3. Names of the programmers...maybe we should press that here in CA, too

BTW, if they have modified "third party software", then it no longer is third party isn't it?

What makes them so special that they can be exempt from a law? The arrogance of these people is just incredible.

I wish you best of luck, and am looking forward for a positive report from your court day.

[liam_laddie]

4. Nov 28 hearing

Thanks for taking this to court! May the scales of justice
weigh so heavily on your(our) side that this becomes the start
of nationwide Diebold (and all DRE) de-certification.
I'm in SW Ohio, and we're having our problems dealing with the
BoE's around here. We're pullin' hard for you!

[Bill Bored]

5. The question arises....

...how does Microsoft feel about their OS being "modified?" Is this legal? Why are they not claiming theft of intellectual property, or did they not get the memo?

(I'm just askin'!)