The Technology of Trust

The recent announcement by the Elections Commision to use biometric systems at the polls was instantly met with criticism and scepticism. The EC claims that the biometric system is a “fool-proof” system, while opposing parties went on to question the competence of the EC in deploying, maintaining and securing such a system.

For me, the technical merits of this, or in fact, any system is rather irrelevant. One may argue that there are several known methods of circumventing a fingerprint reader. Or that the records of voters are unreliable, etc. If we continue along this path, we soon find that ‘biometric system’ is just a pair of words with no absolute definition. Without a detailed set of definitions, open to peer review, it could mean just about anything the EC wants it to mean. 

Then there’s the matter of implementation. Who is to know if the voting process is being carried out exactly to specifications? What safeguards are there against deviation and fraud? Who makes the observations and certifications?

It all comes down to trust. If there is no trust in the people who run the system, it doesn’t matter how ‘fool-proof’ the technology is. For example, there are cryptographic algorithms available these days that are statistically impossible to crack;  yet, people get busted and data gets stolen all the time. Not because of any technical failure, but because the people who were trusted with the keys gave in.

Read more at: http://www.jaykayenn.com/2011/07/the-technology-of-trust/