Can Blockchain Technology Secure Digital Voting Systems

LONDON, December 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Kaspersky Lab challenged 19 universities with protecting e-Voting from cyberattacks in competition; awards three top finalists  

Kaspersky Lab today announced the winning collegiate teams in its Cybersecurity Case Study Competition, hosted by The Economist's Which MBA? site. The grand prize winner was New York University, second place was awarded to University of Maryland, College Park and Newcastle University received third place.

Over the past few weeks, 19 teams from universities in the U.S. and UK were challenged to create a blockchain technology solution for securing digital voting systems. Participants provided written and video submissions detailing their proposals on blockchain-compliant systems that addressed specific security challenges, including voter privacy, undecided voters, voter fraud and more.

"The competition was very interesting and I was very impressed with the submissions," said Eugene Kaspersky, Chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab. "There was a lot of good work there! The challenges of cybersecurity mean the next generation of experts face a changing frontier - there will be plenty of things to work on and securing digital voting systems for national elections is just one example. If cybercriminals exploit one small vulnerability, it could potentially change the course of a nation's history, and these young scholars are bringing us one step closer to making secure digital voting a reality."

U.S. Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD-5) offered his congratulations to the Maryland-based finalists: "I'm proud that the University of Maryland, College Park, has been recognised as one of the leading centres for cybersecurity research in the country. In Congress, I've worked closely with President Loh, state leaders and federal education and national security agencies to highlight the benefits of investing in cybersecurity research in Maryland, which boasts a top-notch education system and proximity to critical defense, intelligence, and homeland security infrastructure. As our nation faces new and challenging cyber-threats to our security and to our businesses' intellectual property, we must continue to invest resources in developing cutting-edge cyber defenses such as those being designed and tested at the University of Maryland, College Park, in Maryland's Fifth District."

Kaspersky Lab experts served as the judging panel, selecting the top three proposals out of the 19 submissions. Additional information for each award-winning submission is below:

• New York University: In first place, and recipient of the $10,000 grand prize, was New York University. The university's submission proposed the usage of a "permissioned blockchain" configuration, in which a central authority admits voting machines to the network prior to the start of the election, followed by voting machines acting autonomously to build a public, distributed ledger of votes. In addition to addressing threats to the integrity of the system, NYU's plan allows voters to tell if their individual vote was counted.

• University Of Maryland, College Park's Maryland Cybersecurity Center: Second place and $5,000 was awarded to the University Of Maryland, College Park's Maryland Cybersecurity Centre, which proposed a solution rooted in global public keys that encrypt ballots and provide voter receipts using randomly generated numbers. The university's proposal also features cryptographic tree data structures that allow citizens to check if their vote was counted.

• Newcastle University: Winner of $3,000 and third place was Newcastle University, which proposed a solution rooted in three protocols: the Open Vote Network, DRE-i and DRE-ip.

To access the award-winning submissions from the Kaspersky Lab Cybersecurity Case Study Competition, please visit The Economist's Which MBA? site.

About Kaspersky Lab (kaspersky.com)

Kaspersky Lab is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky Lab's deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company's comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialised security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky Lab technologies and we help 270,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at http://www.kaspersky.com.

About Which MBA? (economist.com/whichmba)

Which MBA? is a division of The Economist Newspaper Group which offers a suite of online products serving both prospective MBA students and business schools. Our consumer products for prospective students include a GMAT preparation course, annual MBA rankings, and content on Economist.com. Which MBA? offers multi-media advertising solutions for business schools ranging from online MBA fairs, to traditional online and print mediums, to custom white-label lead generation tools.

About The Economist (economist.com)

With a growing global circulation (more than 1.5 million including both print and digital) and a reputation for insightful analysis and perspective on every aspect of world events, The Economist is one of the most widely recognised and well-read current affairs publications.

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SOURCE Kaspersky Lab