[Cryptography] foreign hacks of state election systems

[John Denker]

The manure has already hit the ventilator.  This is not new, but
the public is becoming newly aware of it.

I reckon this is an important application for tamper-resistant
hardware ... and for high-quality top-to-bottom security, including
crypto.

Quoting from:
  Ellen Nakashima,
  Gomorrah Post, August 29, 2016
  "FBI is investigating foreign hacks of state election systems"
  https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-is-investigating-foreign-hacks-of-state-election-systems/2016/08/29/6e758ff4-6e00-11e6-8365-b19e428a975e_story.html

> The FBI “flash” alert, which is not intended for general public 
> release, listed IP addresses and other technical fingerprints 
> associated with the hacks.
 
> The warning did not name the states that were targeted. But in June,
> the Arizona Secretary of State’s office shut down part of its web 
> site after the FBI found a potential threat to its state voter 
> registration system, according to The Arizona Republic.

That refers to:
  Mary Jo Pitzl
  azcentral.com, June 30, 2016
  "FBI concerns shut down parts of secretary of state's elections site"
  http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2016/06/29/security-concerns-shut-down-parts-arizona-secretary-states-elections-site/86523404/

> The problem apparently stems from a "compromised" credential that
> someone using a Gila County computer used to log in to the state's
> Voter Registration System, the state Department of Administration
> said in a statement. A secretary of state investigation found the
> affected computer had malicious software on it, DOA said.