Audit of the CNE's technological infrastructure for the 2021 parliamentary elections in Venezuela. File photo.
Carlos Hernández, the person at Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) responsible for technical aspects and security protection of the electoral process scheduled for July 28, reported that “the telecommunication network will be isolated to prevent external access to the servers.”
This was stated on Monday, July 15, during the audit process of the electoral technological infrastructure and production of voting machines.
“This network will be completely isolated,” he said. “We will have no communication with the rest of the world; the CANTV (Venezuelan state-owned telecom company) network will be assigned solely for this purpose on the day of the event,” explained the expert when asked by a representative of the far-right Unitary Platform (PUD) about the possibility of hackers penetrating the operating system.
He said that the probability of an external element gaining access “is remotely probable” and that a battery of tests has already been carried out in this regard, which has shown minor issues that “have been solved.”
The process of explaining the methodology to be used was carried out by Carlos Hernández, who explained the issues related to the machines, cables, switches, and the authentication data, among other aspects.
Hernández explained the security measures in the internal network, in data traffic, servers and internal monitoring, and the use of technological countermeasures to avoid hacking attacks during an event with representatives from all participating parties. The event was broadcast on YouTube by the CNE.
Hernández said that the servers are configured so that they do not communicate with each other through ports and that they also determine which user enters the operating system, issuing alarms if an irregularity is detected. There are also established standards to determine misuse, he added.
Software and hardware updates are carried out—Hernández explained—under the explicit supervision of the staff, to avoid any malfunctions and ensure that the software works properly on the day of the election.
Regarding data and applications, the platform is designed so that only duly authorized users can have access. He also said that “there will be a history” of all the activities carried out during the electoral event. “The actions carried out by users or by the system will be recorded,” among others.
In 2017, in the middle of the violent opposition protests known as guarimbas, a hacking group identified itself as The Binary Guardians hacked several websites of Venezuelan government institutions, including the CNE. The hackers also posted an image of an insurrectional pamphlet that was distributed on August 6, 2017, near Naguanagua, Carabobo state, where a small group of former officials and civilians attacked the Paramacay Military Fort. The insurrectional operation was easily neutralized by loyalist military officers but weapons and ammunition were taken.
According to experts, hacking a website is different than hacking a telecom infrastructure that is designed to repealed the attacks; however, the ever-changing state of the art in technology always presents new possibilities.
(Últimas Noticias) by Aura Torrealba with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
