The Superior Electoral Justice Tribunal (TSJE) of Paraguay reinforced the security of the electronic voting system, following questions about alleged vulnerabilities to cyberattacks. In an interview, the Director of Information and Communication Technologies, Fausto von Streber, detailed the mechanisms that make the electronic voting machines 'unhackable'.
According to Von Streber, each ballot contains an RFID chip that functions as encrypted memory. 'What shields the chip is that, for a vote to be valid, it must be issued by the voting machine,' he stated. The chip cannot be read or modified outside the equipment, as the data is encrypted and requires specific device software.
Additionally, the machines feature a 'Faraday cage,' which blocks external signals and prevents radio frequency interference. 'When recording the vote, the approach to the chip must be millimeter-precise to record the data,' he explained. A device called a 'jammer' emits electronic noise during recording, making it impossible to inject external data.
During audits, tests were conducted with signal inhibitors and magnets, and in no case was the system altered in a controlled environment, the director emphasized.