E-Voting and Cracking RFID Security

(Business News & Technology News, 15 Jul 2005)

Rubin of Johns Hopkins University, who catapulted the e-voting debate into the national spotlight in the US, will examine e-voting standards and practices in various states as well as the improvements that have been implemented since his revealing analysis nearly two years ago.
"When you go to a system that is fully electronic, everyone understands the convenience and benefits, but not the risks," Rubin said. "The message is getting out that using electronic voting without paper requirements has associated risks that are not worth taking."
The 14th USENIX Security Symposium offers three days of training followed by three days of the research and refereed papers that encompass the advances in computer systems security. Security '05 delivers 22 refereed papers, including an analysis of the success in defeating the security of a cryptographically-enabled RFID device, detailing how security is breached in a Digital Signature Transponder, a device used to secure millions of toll payment transponders and automobile ignition keys.
The USENIX Security Symposium's technical program kicks off with a keynote by Butler W. Lampson of Microsoft and MIT on "Computer Security in the Real World," a talk that examines why almost all of the systems in service today are vulnerable to attack and outlines the steps that need to be taken to improve computer security. Homeland security is the focus of a session that explores initiatives where networking, security and policy come together in interesting ways as the DHS works with critical infrastructure providers to secure the nation's infrastructure.
Security '05 offers its acclaimed in-depth training by industry experts covering topics ranging from network security monitoring with open source tools, organizing a cybersecurity exercise, defending Linux/UNIX systems, and software security.