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Swiss government to reward hackers who can breach its electronic vote system

The Swiss government is offering digital pirates a huge fee if they can successfully get past the electronic voting system's defences.

Published: 8 February 2019 09:37 CET

Swiss government to reward hackers who can breach its electronic vote system

File photo: Frank-Peters/Depositphotos

The Swiss government has issued a 150,000 Swiss franc (US$149,790, €131,000) challenge to online hackers; break into our new generation electronic voting system and we'll reward you.

The federal chancellery announced a dummy run election will be held from February 25 to March 24 and invited anyone who wants to display their online piracy talents to sign up at https://onlinevote-pit.ch.

Labelled the E-Voting Public Intrusion Test, hackers have until 25th February to register for the project. According to the portal, the government is offering different sums for different tasks.

The biggest single prize, 50,000 Swiss francs (€43,000), will go to anyone who manages to manipulate the vote count without being detected.

They can then “try to manipulate the vote count, to read the votes cast, to violate voting secrecy or to bypass security systems,” it said in a statement.

Should test participants find ways of manipulating individual votes that are undetectable by voters and trusted auditors , or even a way to scale manipulation of votes that is undetectable by voters and trusted auditors, they could be rewarded with between between 30'000 50'000 Swiss francs (€26,000 – €43,000).

READ ALSO: Hackers linked to Russian government targeted Swiss chemical weapons experts

Other detections of voter manipulation or intrusion on a voter's privacy will be rewarded with smaller fees – the amount of the reward paid out will depend upon the level of intrusion achieved by each hacker.

The Swiss authorities hope this exercise will help assure, or perhaps improve, the security of the new generation electronic voting system.

Regularly called upon to take part in referendums and votes, many Swiss electors prefer to cast their ballots over several weeks by post at polling stations and, increasingly, online.

Electronic voting has been on trial in several Swiss cantons since 2004. Late last year the government launched an initiative to establish online voting as a third option nationwide within two years.

READ MORE: Federal council elections mark historic day for women in Swiss politics

Vital Swiss role as US-Iran go-between, as tensions soar

Switzerland represents US interests in Iran, and at times of soaring tensions its role as go- between takes on heightened importance.

The Swiss foreign ministry refused Monday to divulge what actions the country had taken in connection with Iran’s weekend attack on Israel.

But US and Iranian officials alluded to the important role Switzerland was playing as an intermediary.

As Washington engaged in whirlwind efforts prior to the attack to prepare for the expected violence, it sent “a series of direct communications through the Swiss channel”, a senior administration official told AFP.

Mohammad Bagheri, the Iranian armed forces’ chief of staff, was more explicit, telling state television that “we sent a message to America through the Swiss embassy that if it cooperates with Israel in their next potential actions, their bases will not be secure”.

Maintaining relations

Switzerland, renowned for its neutrality, has been representing US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations with Tehran after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.

In its role as the so-called protecting power, Switzerland has for decades allowed the two feuding nations to maintain a minimum of diplomatic and consular relations.

The Swiss embassy in Tehran handles all consular affairs between the United States and Iran, including passport requests, altering civil status and consular protection for US citizens in Iran.

Under the protecting power mandate, Switzerland allows “states to maintain low-level relations and provide consular protection to nationals of the other state concerned”, the foreign ministry explains on its website.

“Switzerland can either offer to act as a go-between on its own initiative or can fulfil this function at the request of the parties concerned, provided that all those involved agree,” it added.

Switzerland has often had to play the go-between role.

The country has on several occasions in recent years mediated in prisoner exchanges between Iran and the United States.

Iran’s interests in the United States are meanwhile represented by Pakistan.

Switzerland also exercises a range of other protecting power mandates.

It represents Iran’s interests in Egypt and Canada.

And it represented Iran’s interests in Saudi Arabia for five years before the two countries resumed diplomatic relations last year.

Saudi has not yet formally terminated Switzerland’s protecting power mandate, so Bern still handles its consular services in Iran.

And until 2015, it represented US interests in Cuba and Cuban interests in the United States.

Switzerland first acted as a protecting power in the 19th century. It looked after the interests of the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Grand Duchy of Baden in France during the 1870-71 Franco- Prussian War.

During World War II, Switzerland’s neutral status paved the way for it to be the main protecting power, representing the interests of 35 states, including the major warring powers, with more than 200 individual mandates.

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