Medici Ventures President Defends Blockchain Voting App Voatz After MIT Report

CEO of Overstock and president of Medici Ventures Jonathan Johnson has issued a statement in support of blockchain voting, in response to the technology’s vulnerabilities claims published on Feb. 13.

During the Iowa Democratic caucus, a mobile software application developed to aid in the calculating of the total number of votes reportedly malfunctioned, causing the Democratic Party to delay its public reporting of last Monday’s results.

This scandal brought blockchain-based voting apps under scrutiny, Which led to the  Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s security analysis of Voatz. Researchers claimed they found weaknesses in Voatz that enable “different kinds of adversaries to alter, stop, or expose a user’s vote, including a sidechannel attack in which a completely passive network adversary can potentially recover a user’s secret ballot.”

In a statement on Feb. 13, Johnson came to Voatz aid, saying that it prevents voting fraud and safeguards the privacy of each voter.

Johnson stated, “I firmly believe this undermines American progress. This false premise is shutting down our pursuit of piloting, testing and developing technologies that not only mitigate risks, but makes voting accessible for populations who cannot physically get to the polls.”

By Ramsey Baker

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