Online voting: A sincere, but vulnerable initiative

Welcome yourself to the latest miracle that took place first time in Ahmedabad polls. Yes, we are talking about the latest trend of online voting adopted during Ahmadabad municipal polls, with a 50% success ration, keeping aside the number of people actually knowing about the whole system and how many registered.

For once, I would like to congratulate those who adopted the system quick and used its approach in this advancing world to successfully launch e-governance; but on the other hand, I would like others to know as to how lucky they were, for not choosing this system and making themselves safer.

Today, I would explain to you this newly-formed and not so yet developed world of e-governance which has taken our so holy politicians on a new joy ride of the tech-savvy world.

This idea was first proposed during 2003-2007 and has been in implementation since. The National E- governance Action Plan of the Government of India [NeGP] has formed the protocols on how to spread this system and make it popular.

But, they did make it popular, but not among the voter communities, but around the hackers' communities, as the portals that they made had a robust amount of vulnerabilities to tempt any script kiddie to mingle with the systems.

Now, why those who didn't vote were lucky? It's because that they haven't signed up on a portal, which can be manipulated, used and malfunctioned, to give a person's cell phone number, his address, his other official government details, and even if someone tries harder, one may even get to know about his tax returns. Coming to more serious part, one can even vote a many number of times, without even the authorities having a clue about it. Gone were the days, when we used to have booth capturing and manipulation at exit polls.

While the government plots to unite all these portals to create a feast for the black hat guys to treat upon, it has also plans on giving the social security numbers to all, and so if you have that number, you can easily pin down any one, by getting these number from these portals, which lay under construction as well as under-developed state till God knows when.

Discussing the recent case of e-governance taking place in AMC polls, the site has a list of vulnerabilities, which include one of the most hideous ones which allows me to login as municipal commissioner without any id or password.

The target is not upon the AMC department or the parties participating in the polling, but upon the government who is trying to get tech-savvy day by day, yet, it neglects all the necessary basic essentials that one needs to have to start such things. Also, the type of tenders that they are lending to these firms should also be looked upon when it comes to social security of a person who is adamant to use his rights to the fullest.