Security goals for a secure e-voting system & mechanism for the same

The three Security Goals are

i. Confidentiality

ii. Integrity

iii. Availability

1. Confidentiality :-

• Pressuring authorized restrictions on information access & disclosure, including means for protecting privacy of voters
• No one ( not even election authorities or system administrators in charge of vote collection services must be able under circumstances to correct the value to the voters who have cast them.
• A loss of confidentiality is the unauthorized disclosure of information.

It includes following two concepts:

a.Data Confidentiality

b. Privacy, i.e. only eligible voters can vote only one per voters counted.

2. Integrity

• Guarding against improper information modification or destruction including ensuring information non-repudiation & authenticity
• The accuracy of election results is also essential. It must be impossible to add invalid ballots ( e.g. a fraudster voting in place of alistaining voter) or to delete or alter valid ballots.
• To keep intermediate results secret voted the election is completed ( unless required by the specific nature of the elections)
• Loss of integrity is the unauthorized modification or destruction of information. It includes two concepts

a. Data

b. System

3. Availability :-

• Ensuring timely & reliable access to & use of information
• A loss of availability is the description of access to or use of information or an information systems.
• Assures that system works promptly & services are not denied to authorized users.

Thus the security goals for e-voting system must

• Ensure that each vote is recorded & counted as intended, not manipulated or removed.

• Ensure that no invalid vote are added.

• Ensure that system operations are logged & audited without compromising voters privacy.

Mechanisms

1. Enchipherment :- Hiding or covering the vote casted by the voter. that is, it provides confidentiality.

2. Data integrity:- A start checkvalue must be specified, one vote should be casted by a single voter & it should not be altered for that some checkvalue to be given to the voter that his vote is sealed & no modification must be done

3. Notarization :- It means a third party to control communication between two entities.

4.Access Control :- Use methods to prove that a voter has access right to the data response ovened by him.

Example: His voter id, voter card no etc.