No voting system, including the current paper-based system, is 100% secure. However, mobile voting systems can take sufficient measures to prevent tampering to the greatest extent possible, with more advanced provisions than the current system.
Voatz incorporates the security principle Defense in Depth, wherein multiple security controls are deployed across the platform, each approaching risk in different ways in order to build layers of defense around each asset. As an example, the Voatz app can only be used on compatible smartphones running the latest software. The app leverages the security of these devices (biometrics, hardware security), and embeds additional layers of detection that prevent any compromised device from submitting votes. Voatz also uses blockchain technology to store the final, aggregate vote record on multiple redundant, distributed ledgers for the highest degrees of tamper-resistance. If any bad actor attempts to break into this record, all servers would be alerted, thus rendering “hacking” a very challenging, if not impossible, task. Finally, Voatz produces a multi-layer audit trail so that if in the extremely rare case, a ballot is deemed to have been tampered with, the voter is alerted and has the ability to submit another ballot for tabulation.