Data Security and Internet of Things in e-Electoral Process Prof. SB Junaidu Director, Institute of...

Data Security and Internet of Things in e-Electoral Process

Prof. SB JunaiduDirector, Institute of Computing & ICTAhmadu Bello University, Zaria, NigeriaNovember 17, 2015

Outline

1. Introduction2. Nigerian Electoral Process: A Post-mortem3. Process Re-engineering4. Hi-Tech e-Voting Systems5. Security Issues6. Recommendations7. Summary

2November 17, 2015e-Nigeria 2015@International Conference Center, Abuja

Introduction:

Theme:

Re-engineering national electoral processes through the adoption of hi-tech e-voting system


Introduction: The Electoral Process

Relates to the entire cycle ranging from the provision of voter education to the dissolution of the National Assembly

Refers to all the activities and procedures involved in the election of representatives by the electorates

Refers to all the pre and post election activities without which an election is meaningless.


… Introduction: The Electoral Process

According to INEC (2006) the electoral process includes:1. Delimitation of electoral constituencies 2. Registration of voters 3. Notice of elections 4. Nomination of candidates 5. Election campaigns 6. Elections, announcement of results and completing tribunal

sittings 7. Participation of other organizations 8. Resolution of electoral conflicts


The Nigerian Electoral Process

1999-2015: A Quick Review Based on Osita Agbu’s “Unbridled Election

Rigging and the Use of Technology…”


… The Nigerian Electoral Process

From 1999, Nigeria conducted five elections: 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015

Nigeria’s electoral history had been characterized by grave incidences of electoral rigging beginning from the First Republic

NDI (2003) report on 2003 election– mentioned 12 states where fraud and irregularities were rampant and

concluded that the minimum standard for democratic elections were not met


Nigeria’s 2007 Election

Marred with Irregularities (TMG, 2007):– late arrival of materials and officials, stealing of ballot

papers, vote buying, harassment, chanting, shooting and taunting of voters, lack of secrecy of voting, police interference, ballot snatching and stuffing, intimidation and political violence, denied access to polling stations, partiality of electoral officials and the police, improper voting procedures, late commencement of elections, and underage voting


… Nigeria’s 2007 Election

The TMG concludes:– the whole (2007) election was a charade and did not meet the

minimum standards required for democratic elections.


Nigeria’s 2011 Election

According to (Idowu-Fearon, 2014), led to– Unfortunate and unnecessary deaths of 943 persons,

with 838 injured in the aftermath of the 2011 Presidential election

INEC introduced reform measures for credible elections– Yielded appreciable results– Implications for the 2015 elections


INEC Reforms towards 2015 Election

From the experiences of the 2011 elections, INEC began early to plan for the 2015

Three focal points of structure, policy and plan were articulated

Introduced the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and Smart Card Reader (SCR).– The most novel and strategic measure taken– made it extremely difficult to rig the elections


Nigeria’s 2015 Elections

Environment– Highly charged, INEC under scrutiny and alleged to be compromised

in favor of the ruling party

Nigeria was on the front burner of global attention– Kofi Anan and Anyaoku’s move to douse tension– Visit to Nigeria by prominent ex-Presidents in Africa to

lend their voice for peaceful elections– John Kerry’s visit to Nigeria soliciting for peaceful elections


2015 Elections: The Triumph of Technology

Use of Social Media (INEC, Parties, etc.)– Information dissemination & feedback

eTRAC– Access to signed PU results from INEC web site

AFIS– Removal of multiple registrations

Parties’ digitised and ICT compliant situation rooms tracking events especially on Election Day


… 2015 Elections: The Triumph of Technology

PVC and SCR made it extremely difficult for results to be manipulated

PVC and SCR ensured free, fair and credible polls in 2015.– “The card readers and PVCs won us the elections,” Kayode

Fayemi– “I think the card reader and the PVC have helped deepen

democracy in Nigeria,” Nasir el-Rufai


Are We Home, Yet?

Key lessons learnt– gains made in ensuring increased credibility

for the electoral process

Problems with use of technology – disseminating unofficial and inaccurate

results in violation of the provisions of the Electoral Act


… We Home, Yet?

There were riggings in spite of the use of the PVC and SCR technology– under-aged voters with PVCs– over-counting, double voting,

cancellations, and hijack of ballot papers


Process Re-Engineering

Many aspects of the electoral process can benefit from technology– E.g., boundary delimitation

GIS “Point and Click” boundary delimitation systems

Focus, briefly, on technologies for e-voting


Process Re-Engineering: Voting

Key steps of the voting sub-process – voter identification and authentication– voting and recording of votes cast– vote counting– publication of election results


Voter Identification & Authentication

Required during– Voter registration to establish right to vote– Voting to allow voters exercise right to vote

Done manually in most countries Some countries (including Nigeria) use technologies

– smart cards– database management systems – biometric information


Voting & Vote Recording

Requirements of a credible and reliable voting procedure– Secrecy (all cast votes unknown until election ends)– Anonymity (avoiding collusion, coercion)– Fairness (one voter one value)– Accuracy (in voter identification and votes counting)– Transparency


Voting & Vote Recording

Two broad voting methodsa. Printed ballot papers

– Believed to be the most accurate and most reliable for vote counting

b. Electronic voting– Provide high efficiency– Capacity to deliver election results in a short time– May lack log or paper trail on machine failure, suspicion of

fraud, etc.


E-Voting Systems

A way to get people vote electronically Common types of e-voting systems

– Optical scanning systems– Direct recording electronic systems (DRE)– Internet

Used on a large scale in Belgium, Brazil, India, Venezuela, the US and others


E-Voting Systems: Optical Scanning Systems

Voting done using machine -readable ballots Voter feeds card directly into a computer vote

tabulating device– or place the card in a ballot box

The computer tabulating device identifies the marks made by voters on the cards and records votes accordingly


E-Voting Systems: DREs

Voters mark their votes directly into an electronic device, using a touch screen, push buttons or a similar device

With DRE systems there is no need for paper ballots

Use of DREs expanding in Belgium, Brazil, India and Venezuela

Requires lots of voter education for use in Nigeria


E-Voting Systems: Internet Voting

1. Polling site Internet voting– Ballots cast via Internet from clients machines physically

situated in official polling places– Both hardware and software of the client controlled by

election officials

2. Kiosk Internet voting– client machines controlled by election officials but

distributed in public places (e.g., shopping malls)– Physical environment and voter authentication not directly

under official control


E-Voting Systems: Internet Voting

3. Remote Internet voting– Neither client machines nor physical environment

under control of election officials– Though very attractive, presents serious intractable

security risks


Advantages of Internet Voting

Internet voting can be used to – improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and legitimacy of

democratic elections The most important advantage to the voter is

convenience Cost saving


Security Issues

With whatever new technology is on the table, security is always the big topic

You have to be able to assure the public that it’s a system that has integrity and security, and that folks will be comfortable utilizing it in every day practice

– Michael Winn, director of elections for Travis County, Texas


… Security Issues

Internet voting is subject to inherent insecurity of– The user’s computer– The network that connects to the central server

Most home computers use a version of MS Windows A major goal of MS Windows is ease of use for novices

– not intended for highly sensitive “mission critical” apps Can be a fertile ground for viruses, worms, spyware or

Trojan horse attacks– Despite wide-spread use of firewalls and anti-virus software


… Security Issues

Securing the connection between the voter’s computer and the central server is also problematic– Although use of public-key cryptography allows a degree

of confidence in the integrity of the network Use same technologies for e-commerce and internet

banking to prevent MitX attacks Other forms of attacks

– Denial of service– Spoofing (e.g., phishing)


… Security Issues

Guaranteeing security of internet voting more difficult than that of internet banking– Despite widespread deployment of internet banking

Unlike financial transactions, no connection may be desirable between voter and his vote

Discovery of errors and anomalies in transmission or recording of votes cannot feasibly result in a correction of these results– May lead to votes or even election invalidation


Internet Voting Deployment

No country has deployed a fully electronic voting system at the national level

Hybrid systems (manual and electronic) offer a wide range of solutions, several of which have been used in a number of countries


… Internet Voting Deployment

The State of Geneva in Switzerland beginning 2003– To support their peculiar frequent voting for “direct

democracy”– Parliamentary votes often subjected to ratification or

refusal by the citizenry US Military experiment for use by overseas active-

duty military personnel



Full deployment of Internet voting is likely or even inevitable in the future

For now, there are challenges– Many crucial elements of the voting scheme completely

outside control of election authorities



For Nigeria, there are even more challenges– Infrastructural issues

Availability Ownership

– Technology issues Skills or competency issues Ownership


Future Technologies: Internet of Things

Environment where objects have unique IDs– and can transfer data over a network without

requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

IoT evolved from the convergence of – wireless technologies– micro-electromechanical systems– the Internet.


Recommendations

Government should develop and deploy base ICT infrastructure

Government should review laws guiding elections to address abuses ICTs

NITDA should provide funding for developing indigenous voting technologies

INEC should leverage tried-and-tested, ICT-driven standards for secure electoral data dissemination


Summary

Reviewed Nigerian electoral process

Highlighted role of technology in the process

Touched on importance of security in the process

Surveyed hi-tech e-voting systems and their deployments

Provided recommendations to support objectives of the summit


References

Osita Agbu (2015), Unbridled Election Rigging and the Use of Technology: The Smart Card Reader as the ‘Joker’ in Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential Election, Research and Studies Department, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs

Eguavon Augustine Ainabor (2009), “Problems of Elections and Imperatives of Reforms in Nigeria‟s Democratic Process”, The Constitution, Vol.9, No.3, September.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI)(2003), “Election Special”, The News Magazine, Vol.20, No.15.

Jega Attahiru (2014), Electoral Reforms in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges, INEC.

INEC (2006): “Building Confidence in the Electoral System” Abuja: Independent National Electoral Commission.


Data Security and Internet of Things in e-Electoral Process Prof. SB Junaidu Director, Institute of...

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