BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scytl, the worldwide leader in online election solutions, has today announced that only its online ballot marking solution has the technology that truly protects the privacy of voters and secrecy of intermediate results. Other solutions on the market incorporate a standard security measure - such as SSL communications - that do not completely address the specific privacy and security challenges posed by the online marking of ballots.
The Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act of 2009 mandates that U.S. jurisdictions allow its uniformed and overseas citizens to receive and track their ballots electronically. As a result, many jurisdictions now allow their uniformed and overseas citizens to mark their ballots using online platforms. These systems do not permit online voting – as voters are required to print and mail their marked ballots. The online ballot marking process has raised concerns on privacy and protection of intermediate results since these online platforms, if not properly designed, can leave traces of the voters’ selected choices and identity without the voters’ knowledge, allowing a system administrator or a hacker to gain access to this sensitive information.
Scytl’s online marking platform implements a specialized security protocol in the voter’s device that ensures that voters’ choices are never known by the online platform or by any third-party device, preventing system administrators or malicious attackers from violating voters’ privacy.
“Scytl’s solutions are always developed with security in mind and we knew from the beginning that privacy requirements would be key in an online ballot marking solution,” said Paul Stenbjorn, Scytl’s Director of U.S. Operations. “We think that it is important for jurisdictions to understand how vendors are addressing these security requirements given the concerns around privacy among voters.”
About Scytl (www.scytl.com) - Scytl is a worldwide leader in the development of secure technology solutions for the modernization of elections. The company’s solutions incorporate unique cryptographic protocols that enable Scytl to carry out a variety of election processes in a completely secure and auditable manner. Scytl’s election technology has been successfully deployed for United States overseas and military voters since 2008 and, in conjunction with the Federal Voting Assistance Program, Scytl's online ballot delivery technology for military and overseas voters was successfully used in 14 states during the November 2010 general elections enabling overseas voters to securely receive electronic ballots while providing election officials with administrative efficiency to manage the complex overseas voting processes. In addition to the deployment of Scytl’s technology in the United States, the company’s secure election solutions have been used in public elections by governments in the countries of the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, India and Australia. Scytl is a portfolio company of leading international VC funds Nauta Capital, Balderton Capital and Spinnaker. Scytl recently purchased SOE Software of Tampa, Florida, adding to its election product and service offerings. Scytl is based in Barcelona, Spain with its U.S. headquarters in Baltimore and offices in Florida, Toronto, New Delhi, Athens, Kiev and Singapore.