Post
by Whistler » March 29, 2021, 1:56 pm
Declan,
I re-read part of the email trail on the Wisconsin wireless access. So as an IT consultant, let me explain why this was impossible.
1. SSID's. A wireless router that provides connectivity has a couple of settings. The security protocol used (these days almost always WAP2 - Wireless Access Protocol), the actual router password itself and if the router can be discovered or not. There is no such thing as a secret SSID, there can be a hidden SSID but it is not that hard for anybody to find, put me near any wireless router and I could display all the hidden SSID's with a single click, no hacking needed. It would have been possible to connect while the discovery setting was open, and then close the setting afterwards, but nobody can create a secret SSID, hidden SSID's are not hidden very well. Typically there is only one SSID per router, some advanced ones have 2, There are zero benefits in this case of having hidden SSID's.
2. Once connected to a wireless network, the user would then need a login to access any server or client, not just the router, the router holds no storage capability so you could not access files. To access the files you would have to know the IP address and then have a logon to that device. There have been no emails presented that provide this information. If the aim to create a 'backdoor' to the storage system or access the software then a series of passwords would have to be issued.
3. The IT consultant was not located at the voting centre, so he could not connect wirelessly if he was say more than 80 meters away from the wireless router. 100% impossible. So he had to be at the voting centre all of the time. If he was at the centre, he would not need to connect wirelessly, he could just log onto the LAN (local Area Network) via any PC. The whole wireless access story is BS.
4. Some of the stupidity of statements by the investigating committee complained that the software used could not be examined because it was not 'Open Source'. Commercial software is rarely 'Open Source', Googles core software is not, nor is Microsoft, Oracle or any of the majors. They paid to create the software and they sell it, software companies do not create software just so they can give it away.
5. Software, hardware and services relating to voting systems is tightly controlled by a comprehensive set of published standards. These ensure testing, operations and security meets very stringent standards. No data can be transmitted unless it is encrypted so intercepting packets of information over a network would be fruitless.
6. Anybody can knock up an email, its done all the time to spread misinformation, etc. Nothing I read stated that the emails had been verified by accessing the email server. in this case, it looks for a host of reasons, the emails are concocted.
This like the conspiracy theory about Italy hacking machines from space, technically impossible and only slightly plausible to people with only a rudimentary knowledge of IT.
I had a bumper sticker in Texas that read 'Beam me up Scotty'. I often wish I could find one in Udon Thani