Cybersecurity Expert Warns Digital Voting Risks Undermine Israeli Election Integrity
The economic cost of election day in Israel is estimated at billions of shekels, prompting questions about shifting to digital voting from home or polling station computers. However, Professor Or Dunkelman, an information security expert at the University of Haifa, cautions that despite technological appeal, digital voting could severely compromise voter freedom, public trust, and election security.
Dunkelman explains that elections encompass more than casting ballots; they involve legislation, voter rights, campaign rules, vote counting, seat allocation, and surplus agreements. Thus, digitalization cannot be assessed solely on the voting act itself. He identifies two main digital voting options: voting from home and using machines at polling stations. Voting from home raises serious concerns about voter coercion or pressure from family or others, and risks mass voting manipulation through phone hacking.
Technological challenges also exist, including unequal access and digital literacy among citizens, and the complexity of Israel’s multi-party system potentially biasing ballot presentation. Dunkelman highlights cyber threats, noting that a nationwide computerized election system would be a prime target for hostile actors. He references successful hacking of voting machines demonstrated at U.S. hacker conferences, underscoring vulnerabilities.
Beyond technology, Dunkelman stresses the critical importance of public trust in democratic elections. If computerized results are clouded by suspicion, disputes, or conspiracy theories, the legitimacy of the entire democratic process could be undermined. Therefore, despite the high cost and drawbacks of traditional voting, current mechanisms, physical polling stations, double counting, observers, and double envelopes, offer greater reliability than digital systems can currently guarantee.
Until full security and broad public confidence can be assured, Dunkelman concludes that transitioning to digital elections in Israel is unlikely to become reality.
