EVM security cannot be settled in Keshav Kunj, says Priyank Kharge
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge calls for a court-monitored technical audit and ethical hackathon to verify EVM security.
In a sharp escalation of the debate surrounding electronic voting machines, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge has demanded a rigorous, independent technical audit of the EVM system. Challenging the current methods used to verify machine integrity, Kharge argued that the security of India's voting process cannot be validated through mere political challenges, but requires the scrutiny of seasoned technical experts.
A Challenge to the Election Commission's Approach
Speaking via a post on X, Kharge questioned the Election Commission of India's (ECI) recent stance, which involved offering challenges to political parties to test machine security. He pointed out a fundamental flaw in this logic: political organisations lack the specialized technical expertise required to conduct a meaningful vulnerability assessment of complex electronic systems.
"The ECI's so-called challenge was offered to political parties. How exactly are political parties supposed to conduct a serious technical vulnerability assessment of an electronic voting system?" Kharge questioned, highlighting the gap between political participation and technical verification.
The Demand for a Court-Monitored Audit
The Minister revealed that he has formally approached the Chief Election Commissioner on two separate occasions to propose a much more credible and transparent mechanism. Rather than political demonstrations, Kharge is calling for:
- A court-monitored technical audit: To ensure complete legal and procedural transparency.
- An ethical hackathon: Involving a diverse group of independent cybersecurity experts, engineers, and researchers.
- Specialized scrutiny: An examination of the system's architecture, underlying code, access controls, and potential hardware vulnerabilities.
Kharge emphasized that the system must be placed in the hands of professionals who truly understand how to stress-test such technology. "Put the system in the hands of people who actually know how to test architecture, code, access controls and vulnerabilities," he stated.
Karnataka Offers to Sponsor the Test
In a bold move, the Karnataka Minister extended an invitation to the ECI to move the testing process to Bengaluru, India's technology hub. He offered the state government's full support to sponsor an independent technical exercise that would bring together the finest minds from the country's technology ecosystem.
"If you genuinely believe the system is secure, tell your masters to bring it to India's technology capital. The Karnataka Government is willing to fully sponsor an independent exercise and bring together some of the best technical minds in the ecosystem," Kharge asserted, adding the stinging remark that EVM security cannot be settled within the confines of Keshav Kunj.
The Election Commission's Stance
The Election Commission has consistently defended the integrity of its machines, maintaining that EVMs are standalone units that operate without any connection to the internet or external networks. The ECI points to a multi-layered security protocol, including:
- First-level checking processes.
- Mandatory mock polls.
- Strict sealing procedures.
- The presence of representatives from recognized political parties during various stages of the process.
Records indicate that the ECI conducted a similar challenge in 2017, inviting political parties to attempt tampering under prescribed safeguards. While two parties showed initial interest, they ultimately did not proceed with the challenge.