“It would be extremely difficult to replicate these systems since many states utilize unique networks and custom-built databases with new and updated security protocols,” it read.

In a statement regarding the event, the National Association of Secretaries of State said it is “ready to work with civic-minded members of the DEFCON community wanting to become part of a proactive team effort to secure our elections.” But the organization expressed skepticism over the hackers’ abilities to access the actual state websites. More than 30 of them were able to hack into replicas of secretaries of states, where vote tallies are posted. “So this year we decided to bring the voting village to the kids as well,” she said.Ībout 50 children participated in the DEFCON hacking event for children on Friday and Saturday. Sell said the idea for the event began last year, after adult hackers were able to access similar voting sites in less than five minutes. “These things should not be easy enough for an 8-year-old kid to hack within 30 minutes, it’s negligent for us as a society.” “These are very accurate replicas of all of the sites,” Sell told the PBS NewsHour on Sunday. Sell said more than 30 children hacked a variety of other similar state replica websites in under a half hour. Nico Sell, the co-founder of the the non-profit r00tz Asylum, which teaches children how to become hackers and helped organize the event, said an 11-year-old girl also managed to make changes to the same Florida replica website in about 15 minutes, tripling the number of votes found there.

Here’s the DefCon Voting Machine Hacking Village roundup of discoveries for the day! Day 1 / Part 1 /ovQs7uX7jK

He was one of about 50 children between the ages of 8 and 16 who were taking part in the so-called “DEFCON Voting Machine Hacking Village,” a portion of which allowed kids the chance to manipulate party names, candidate names and vote count totals. The boy, who was identified by DEFCON officials as Emmett Brewer, accessed a replica of the Florida secretary of state’s website. Thousands of adult hackers attend the convention annually, while this year a group of children attempted to hack 13 imitation websites linked to voting in presidential battleground states. An 11-year-old boy on Friday was able to hack into a replica of the Florida state election website and change voting results found there in under 10 minutes during the world’s largest yearly hacking convention, DEFCON 26, organizers of the event said.

What defcon level are we in now