• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechHacking

How Hackers Could Cause a Presidential Election ‘Virtual Hanging Chad’

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 11, 2016, 12:25 PM ET
Donald Trump And Mike Pence Hold Town Hall In Scranton, PA
SCRANTON, PA - JULY 27: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to a crowd of supporters on July 27, 2016 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Trump spoke at the Lackawanna College Student Union Gymnasium.Photograph by John Moore — Getty Images

The hanging chad from the 2000 Presidential election could be making a comeback—in virtual form.

At the Black Hat USA 2016 hacking conference in Las Vegas that ended on Aug. 4, security firm Tripwire surveyed more than 220 information security professionals to determine whether they believed hackers could influence the outcome of the Presidential election. Nearly two-thirds of those respondents—63%, to be exact—answered with a simple “yes.” Nearly 20% of respondents, however, believe any state-sponsored attacks that could affect this year’s elections shouldn’t be considered acts of cyber war.

Regardless, Tripwire’s senior director of security research and development Lamar Bailey said that hackers will inevitably attack the U.S. on election day, but they likely won’t be able to coordinate massive hacks. Instead, the security firm argues, hackers might try to target swing states and even counties within those states that might be easier targets to create disruption on election day.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

“This is not something that can be done in a few days or weeks, if an organization is going to be successful in this style of attack they must be well funded and have started work months ago,” Bailey said. “It is much more likely that many small attacks will happen in an attempt to discredit the results from various states or counties within states. It could be like the 2000 election but with a virtual hanging chad.”

Bailey is referring to the infamous Florida recount in 2000 that caused a delay in determining the victor between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Chief among the concerns during the period were so-called “hanging chads,” or partially punched holes. There was nearly nightly debate during the period over whether the hanging chads should represent a vote or not, and to what degree they needed to be punched in order to show a desire to vote for the respective candidate.

Now, though, voting machines have become more sophisticated and some, like Tripwire and those at Black Hat USA, a hacker conference, suggest they could come under fire.

However, there is some debate over just how much damage hackers could or even would do.

Earlier this week, for instance, Fortune writer Jeff John Roberts threw cold water on the notion hackers could affect the election. He noted, among other things, that few American citizens actually use voting machines and most actually use paper ballots or mail-in votes. In addition, several states have a paper trail they can audit in the event something goes awry and most voting machines are so old, it could be impossible to hack them.

“Thanks to America’s decentralized voting process, the possibility of hackers wresting control of the election is basically nil,” he wrote. “Instead, the real concerns to the voting process are familiar ones like voter registration lists, ballot stuffing, or tampering with mail-in ballots. In other words, on Election Day, be more worried about the local party boss than the Kremlin.”

The Internet Law Resource Center agrees with Roberts, saying in its own piece on the matter that a widespread hack of U.S. voting machines is “highly unlikely.”

For more about hackers, watch:


So, expect the debate to continue up until Election Day when Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton square off in their race to the White House.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

Luigi
CybersecurityCrime
‘It seemed preposterous on its face’: Altoona cop’s supervisor said he’d buy his favorite hoagie moments before Luigi Mangione arrest
By Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz and The Associated PressDecember 18, 2025
2 hours ago
Bill Gates
CybersecurityJeffrey Epstein
House Democrats release more Epstein photos, including Bill Gates and a dinner full of wealthy philanthropists
By Stephen Groves and The Associated PressDecember 18, 2025
2 hours ago
The Trump Media & Technology Group said Dec. 18 it would merge in a $6 billion deal with the TAE Technologies fusion energy developer.
EnvironmentDonald Trump
CEO of nuclear fusion firm Trump Media is merging with: High-velocity capital is critical to build quickly and efficiently. The concerns are secondary
By Jordan BlumDecember 18, 2025
3 hours ago
Lovable CEO
AICoding
Lovable hits $6.6 billion valuation as its CEO says it wants to be ‘the last piece of software’ companies ever buy
By Beatrice NolanDecember 18, 2025
4 hours ago
unemployed
CommentaryLayoffs
The AI efficiency illusion: why cutting 1.1 million jobs will stifle, not scale, your strategy
By Katica RoyDecember 18, 2025
6 hours ago
AIFintech
How Salient, an AI loan processing startup valued at $500 million, grew ARR to $25 million in two years
By Lily Mae LazarusDecember 18, 2025
7 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
The $38 trillion national debt is to blame for over $1 trillion in annual interest payments from here on out, CRFB says
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 17, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
AI
'Robots are going to be amongst us': Qualcomm exec says buckle up for the next 5 years. Your car is going to be the first shoe to drop
By Nino PaoliDecember 17, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
As millions of Gen Zers face unemployment, McDonald's CEO dishes out some tough love career advice for navigating the market: ‘You've got to make things happen for yourself’
By Preston ForeDecember 16, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
Red Lobster CEO Damola Adamolekun says the key to being a better leader is being a better person: ‘Leadership is self-improvement’
By Sydney LakeDecember 17, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announces departure of AI exec Rohit Prasad in leadership shake-up
By Sharon GoldmanDecember 17, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Britain’s defense chief calls on Gen Z grads leaving university to skip corporate jobs and join the military as war with Russia becomes a growing risk
By Emma BurleighDecember 17, 2025
1 day ago