by | Jan 25, 2024 | Aggregate
A court drawing of J. Alex Halderman hacking a Dominion Voting Tabulator in court in Georgia on January 19, 2023 using only a pen!
Last week, University of Michigan professor Dr. J Alex Halderman stood in front of a federal judge overseeing the seven-year-long Curling v Raffensperger case in Atlanta, Georgia and shocked the gallery. Halderman was able to successfully gain “super user” access to the Dominion ICX Ballot Marking Device (BMD) using nothing more than a BIC pen.
The Gateway Pundit broke the story after interviewing a local citizen journalist who witnessed the hack firsthand in the courtroom.
Transcripts show that the “pen hack” was just the tip of the iceberg.
In June 2022, the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) published a report detailing nine critical vulnerabilities on the Dominion ICX BMDs, based on the then-sealed report prepared by Dr. Halderman. The 90-page report has since been unsealed.
For the layperson who doesn’t speak “geek,” the CISA report doesn’t articulate the seriousness of these vulnerabilities and, further, what they can accomplish once exploited. But perhaps most importantly, how easily they can be exploited, often automatically, even by minimally trained attackers.
The BIC Pen Attack
Initially, last week Dr. Halderman was able to use the BIC pen to press the power button on the back side of the Dominon ICX BMD for approximately 5 seconds, which rebooted the machine into “Safe Mode”. Dr. Halderman was able to do this without removing or breaking any of the safety seals that are installed on the machine to “prevent” tampering.
Once the Dominion ICX BMD was booted into “Safe Mode,” Dr. Halderman was able to launch the Android Launcher, which is a menu of different applications installed on the device. He noted that the Android 5.1 is severely outdated. Current Android’s run version 14. When asked if Android 5.1 is still supported by the manufacturer, Dr. Halderman answered, “it is not.”
Counsel then asked Dr. Halderman what he could do with this type of access, to which he responded. The transcript reads:
“Well, here we have the file manager. This is an application that will let me on-screen navigate through the files on the machine. You can use that to copy or delete files or to open them up in an on-screen text editor and edit or even change the contents of the file on the screen.
Here, we have the settings icon that allows you to change any of the operating systemwide settings or to remove or install software on the device.
So through the settings applications is one way that someone could directly install malware using this safe mode vulnerability.”
Dr. Halderman then discussed an application called the terminal emulator. He described it as “particularly powerful.” The terminal emulator allows you to run a command called SU, or “Super User”. This is used to bypass the operating systems security controls. Dr. Halderman said a computer would typically challenge you for a secret password to gain this type of Super User access. But utilizing this BIC pen hack, Dr. Halderman was able to simply gain that access through a simple prompt:
“Would I like to allow superuser access, allow or deny.”
Dr. Halderman described what he was able to accomplish with this type of access:
“Well, gosh, it — superuser access would allow me to — to read, to modify, or to change any of the data or software that is installed on the device.”
He was asked, “Are there any limits to what you could do to a ballot using this access?”
“To the ballot data on the machine? No,” he responded.
“Are there any limits to what you could do to the election software on the BMD with this access?”
“No.”
But this hack wasn’t discovered by Dr. Halderman. And it wasn’t discovered recently. In fact, this critical vulnerability was discovered by the US Elections Assistance Commission (EAC) on January 16, 2020, 11 months before the 2020 Presidential Election. According to Dr. Halderman, it was the first month that Georgia deployed the Dominion ICX BMDs.
Dr. Halderman previously received a Dominion ICX BMD for his initial testing and subsequent report in August of 2020, almost eight months after this vulnerability was discovered by the EAC. It wasn’t remedied then and it doesn’t seem to have been remedied to this day, a full four years later. The machine Dr. Halderman utilized in the courtroom for the demonstration was provided by Fulton County’s elections department in the configuration used currently in elections.
This was just one of many vulnerabilities that were demonstrated in Judge Amy Totenberg’s federal courtroom.
The Smart Card Hacks For Just $30
The Dominion ICX BMD has several variations of cards that are used to allow different functions. Among them, technicians have a specific card. Poll-workers have a specific card. And voters, after they check-in, are given a “one time use” card to vote.
Next, Dr. Halderman demonstrated a vulnerability using a counterfeit poll-worker card. For this ‘hack’, Dr. Halderman purchased some smart cards online for about $10 each. There are no restrictions from purchasing these cards online, as he noted. He then utilized a USB smart card reader for $20 on Amazon and was able to use that to create a counterfeit poll-worker card for the Dominion ICX BMD.
Dr. Halderman then created a voter card by utilizing his software and the same equipment mentioned above. This voter card differed from the ones issued at a polling location in that it can be used an infinite number of times and in any location countywide for the same election. Typically, a voter card issued to a voter by a poll worker is a one-time use card.
The third type of card that Dr. Halderman was able to make was more significant. This card is called a technician card and it can be utilized to install malware. Dr. Halderman testified:
“So a technician card is the third kind of Smart card for the ICX BMDs. A technician card is sort of like a master key. It unlocks a technician menu from which service workers at the county or Dominion personnel perform functions like loading the ballot designs before an election or performing software updates.”
He then inserted the technician card into the Dominion ICX BMD and bypassed the pin prompt that appeared. Then a prompt on-screen appeared and said that the menu is unavailable while the poll is open. His counterfeit technician card was able to bypass that safeguard as well.
With this access, Dr. Halderman was able to back out of the application that runs during the election and access the Android desktop. He then gained Super User access, once again, but this time with a simple Smart card he created using items purchased online for about $30 and “without access to any secret information.” This would be undetectable as inserting a card into the Dominion ICX BMD is a required function by the voter when they use the machine.
Counsel then asked him:
“Can automated commands be used to cause the machine to print ballots that do not reflect the voter’s intentions?”
“Yes, they can.”
“Did you need any nonpublic information to make the technician card?”
“Remarkably, no,” he responded.
It gets worse. Much worse.
Part 2 of this series to follow.
During the testimony of Dr. Halderman, attorney David Oles was not permitted to ask any questions of Dr. Halderman. Oles represents co-plaintiff Ricardo Davis of VoterGA.org. Yesterday, The Gateway Pundit reported that Oles was able to get proffers submitted to the court regarding Dr. Halderman and Dr. Philip Stark’s testimonies.
The Culling vs. Raffensperger Lawsuit: Evidence of Voting Machine Vulnerabilities and Fulton County 2020 Election Issues Entered into the Federal Record | The Gateway Pundit | by Brian Lupo
The trial this explosive testimony and live demonstration originated from is currently underway in the Northern District of Georgia in Judge Amy Totenberg’s court.
The post Part 1: Full Scope of Dominion ICX Hack in Federal Court is FAR Worse than Just the BIC Pen Hack appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 25, 2024 | Aggregate
Speaker Mike Johnson offered full support to Governor Greg Abbott to defend the state of Texas from invasion.
This comes after the US Supreme Court ruled that Texas must allow Border Security to remove wire fencing and continue the flood of illegal invaders into the state. Of course, this is pure insanity.
Conservative justices Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett (Trump appointee) sided with the liberals and granted the Biden Regime’s emergency request. This is the 9th time that the Supreme Court has sided with the Biden regime out of 14 emergency applications.
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, Texas officials, including Governor Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, have expressed their intent to continue measures to reinforce the border. Texas National Guard members began installing more razor wire in Eagle Pass.
Speaker Johnson tweeted out his support for Governor Abbott and the sovereignty of the United States on Wednesday.
I stand with Governor Abbott. The House will do everything in its power to back him up.
The next step: holding Secretary Mayorkas accountable. https://t.co/XkO5jvBuJl
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 25, 2024
More
LATE BREAKING: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson offers FULL SUPPORT to Governor Abbott’s attempt TO PROTECT their State from Invasion..
“I stand with Governor Abbott. The House will do everything in its power to back him up.” https://t.co/M1FJ3ZCytY pic.twitter.com/MmLRDVaVMV
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) January 25, 2024
In a significant escalation of tensions over the U.S.-Mexico border policies, several Republican governors are uniting in support of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s challenge against the Biden regime.
This move comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision allowing the removal of razor wire installed by Texas at the border.
The post Speaker Mike Johnson Offers Full Support to Governor Abbott to Protect State of Texas from Invasion appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 25, 2024 | Aggregate
I’ve started to detect some chatter on the America First side of the house that reflects a blurring of meanings. Our military leadership has become woke and there needs to be change to eradicate this toxic cancer. However, we need the strongest military in the world to deter any overt or malign challenges to America. President Trump made that clear in his first term. Until recently, the American military was one of the highest regarded institutions in the country. What is becoming blurred is that because of a disease in our military, there is this impression that the military is now inherently bad and building up the U.S. military must also be bad.
With that path of logic, the conclusion is that anything military is automatically now part of the insidious Deep State and is counter Constitutional. Let’s please parse this a bit better. Despite having someone encumbering the White House that didn’t necessarily earn this encumberment, China is on the march, the world is on fire, and we must build up our military simultaneously with using the Congressional role of the House of Representatives to hold the Biden Team accountable.
America First means having the best military in the world
President Trump had many accomplishments during his first term. One of his biggest was rapidly re-building the U.S. Military, worn out after 16 years of forever wars. The Trump accomplishments were many. The Trump Administration had, “Rebuilt the military and created the Sixth Branch, the United States Space Force”. Despite being mocked and slow rolled by the Deep Staters, the Trump Administration established the Space Force to ensure American parity against the rapidly expanding Chinese Space enterprise. The military was used in a spectacular and successful manner to reach out and kill the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and eliminate the world’s top terrorist, Qasem Soleimani.
These were the proper demonstrations of how to use the military to carry out national objectives of meting out punishment to villains. Baghdadi and Soleimani were responsible for the death, injury, and torture of many Americans. The U.S. Military performed flawlessly; they prepared the battle space with decisive situational awareness, finalized the plan, reached out, eliminated these evil people, and re-deployed. Under America First, that is the model. When a threat defies deterrence, our military projects force, teaches an important life lesson and then returns. Permanent base camps aren’t set up in region which bankrupt the military with forever war constant deployment cycles to fill these base camps. This only wears out our military personnel and gives the enemy a target to shoot at. We’re facing a constant assault on these Biden re-established base camps now in Iraq and Syria – putting thousands of Americans at risk and with hundreds of injuries.
Deterrence is the first mission, destroying anyone who challenges the deterrent is the next
The Biden Team frets away, obsessed with virtue signaling concepts such as “proportionality” and “degrading” in warfare. Instead, they should direct the annihilation of anyone who dares assault the American or allied militaries. I don’t remember Powell or Schwarzkopf telling us to “degrade” the Iraqis or be “proportional” with them in Desert Storm. The best way to prevent conflict is to prepare for it. The Reagan Doctrine is the Trump Doctrine: Peace Through Strength.
This includes a first-class military that can deter and thus prevent conflict. To have this first-class military, there must be a first-class defense industrial base. Trump had the country on the pathway to re-building the industrial base, which depends on a strong civilian industrial base of manufacturing. Now the Biden Team is in a panic because 70 years of Globalism and exporting manufacturing jobs to China have destroyed American manufacturing.
Having a Military Industrial Complex is a bad thing
To be clear, a De-Wokified Military that is overwhelmingly powerful is a good and America First tenet. This includes a vibrant economy, based on a dominant manufacturing base, thereby enabling a world class defense industrial base. But a Military Industrial Complex, as President Eisenhower warned, is bad, and is not the same as an America First Defense Industrial Base. How is it different? A Military Industrial Complex includes Civilian members of the Bureaucracy (remember, by law, DOD is a civilian led organization), Uniformed Military members, and military manufacturers that get us in forever wars. Wars with no intent of winning or accomplishing objectives, just perpetual conflict because it increases orders of war material and provides jobs for the elite. At all times there must be transparency and accountability to diminish anything that looks or smells like a Military Industrial Complex.
Retired General Milley attending the World Economic Forum is the poster child for the Military Industrial Complex. Milley coordinated directly with the Communist Chinese to undermine President Trump. The modern Military Industrial Complex is Globalist and places Globalism and even China first, the American Citizen last. We need the strongest, best military. That is a good thing. That is very different from the Forever War Military Industrial Complex. We need to know the difference and need to spin up the De-Wokified Military as fast as possible and put it in high gear when America First is back in the White House in November.
The post The Difference Between Having the Strongest Military in the World and Having a Military Industrial Complex appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 25, 2024 | Aggregate
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann.
Germany’s failing governing coalition is led by the most unpopular Chancellor of this century, Olaf Scholz.
And just when we thought that this government couldn’t get any worse, it turns out it could – and much worse.
It was just 3 years ago when Germany decided to reform and strengthen Section 184b of the Criminal Code: then Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht oversaw the change that changed ‘the distribution, acquisition and possession of child pornographic content’ from a misdemeanor to a crime.
Now, there is a real risk of a year-long prison sentence.
But not for long, it seems.
Lambrecht’s successor as Justice Minister, Marco Buschmann, wants to downgrade the offense to a misdemeanor again – and they are doing it with unconvincing justifications.
BILD reported:
“A corresponding draft law is to be passed by the cabinet: The minimum sentence will then be significantly less than one year in prison (the maximum sentence remains of up to ten years). The FDP man is thus responding to practical demands.
Lawyers, public prosecutors and judges complain that the tightening is unrealistic. Because: The judiciary complains that it has to increasingly investigate parents or teachers who find relevant material on children’s cell phones and forward it to the police.”
Judges complain that they have to pursue cases that don’t belong in the criminal courts.
“Bavaria’s Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (53, CSU) explains to BILD: ‘We want to prosecute child molesters, not parents who warn other parents about child pornography’.”
Reporters from the German paper BILD decided to ask the Federal Ministry of Justice: ‘In how many cases were parents or teachers actually investigated?’
The numbers are not available.
“There is criticism of the defusing. Rainer Becker, honorary chairman of German Children’s Aid, says: ‘What the Federal Minister of Justice has planned is a real hammer. His view is extremely friendly to perpetrators – that makes me very concerned’.”
Buschmann is not even alone in his regrettable stance. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has also spoken out ‘in favour of toning down legislation governing sexual offences in Germany’.
Star Connect Media reported:
“’Tightened penalties have led to youths facing harsh charges if they share nude images with each other’, Faeser told the newspapers of the Funke media group on Friday.
‘It is more important to create awareness about the risks of sharing such private matters than to proceed with harsh criminal charges’, Faeser asserted.
She said it is about priorities in this matter. ‘The authorities would have the time and space to fight the actually bad offences happening’. Justice ministers at the federal and state levels are currently discussing potential changes.”
Read more:
Peter Sweden: IT’S SPREADING – Massive Farmers Protest in Germany (Video)
The post SICK: German Justice Minister Wants to Downgrade Possession and Distribution of Child P*rn From a Crime Into a Misdemeanor! appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
by | Jan 25, 2024 | Aggregate
Screenshot: FOX 2 St. Louis/Youtube
Missouri has joined several other states in adopting a caucus system for selecting their party’s presidential nominee.
This move comes after the Missouri General Assembly passed a law in 2022 abolishing the traditional March Presidential Preference Primary. The new process, as outlined in Missouri statutes RSMo 115.776, delegates the responsibility of nominating presidential candidates to the established political parties within the state.
RSMo 115.776 — Caucuses, nomination for presidential candidates — delegates for national conventions. — “The state party organization which is the state organization recognized by the national organization of that established political party shall, before the national convention, conduct a series of caucuses culminating in congressional and state conventions for the purpose of nominating a candidate for the president of the United States. Delegates to the national conventions shall be chosen at the congressional district and state conventions pursuant to rules established by the political parties.”
According to the Missouri Secretary of State’s (SOS) website, the transition to a caucus system is a pivotal shift in how presidential nominees will be chosen for the November 2024 elections.
Each established political party in Missouri will now have the autonomy to determine its process for selecting a nominee. The Secretary of State’s Office has reportedly reached out to these parties to gather information about their respective nomination processes.
Missouri voters interested in participating in the nomination process are encouraged to review information provided by the established political parties. For those wishing to affiliate with a party, the Secretary of State’s Office advises registering through the SOS website or contacting local election authorities.
“One potential pro about this is Republicans get to do it the way they want to. Democrats get to do it the way they want to. Libertarians get to do it the way they want to,” said Missouri’s SOS Jay Ashcroft (R).
“Doing this will save the state about $10 million. I’m sure that after we’re done with the caucus, we will have a discussion about whether or not the legislature should have removed the primary or not and whether or not we should go back to that,” he added.
The Missouri GOP has been proactive in detailing its caucus process. They announced that local caucuses in each county and the City of St. Louis are scheduled for March 2, 2024, at 10 a.m.
The GOP’s process involves a series of caucuses and conventions leading to the selection of delegates for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, WI, set for July 16-18, 2024. This convention will ultimately decide the Republican nominees for President and Vice President of the United States.
Prospective caucus participants are encouraged to pre-register for expedited check-in. It’s important to note that pre-registration details must match the information on the Missouri Secretary of State’s Website exactly, including the use of all capital letters.
On the day of the caucus, attendees must bring their pre-registration confirmation email and a valid, government-issued photo ID.
The Missouri GOP’s website provides comprehensive information on the caucus process, including the Call to Convention (Caucus Rules), Delegate Allocation by County, a Planning Memorandum, a Calendar of Important Dates, and explanations of the Plurality Slate Scenario.
For those seeking more in-depth understanding, a video of the Caucus Training conducted in Independence, MO, is available online in three parts: Introduction, Mock Caucus, and Conclusion.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are primarily using mail-in ballots and will also offer in-person voting on March 23.
The post ICYMI: Missouri Joins Other States in Caucus System for Electing Party’s Presidential Nominee — GOP Caucuses Will be Held on March 2, 2024 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
