Systems used by courts and governments across the US riddled with vulnerabilities

Public records systems that courts and governments rely on to manage voter registrations and legal filings have been riddled with vulnerabilities that made it possible for attackers to falsify registration databases and add, delete, or modify official documents.

Over the past year, software developer turned security researcher Jason Parker has found and reported dozens of critical vulnerabilities in no fewer than 19 commercial platforms used by hundreds of courts, government agencies, and police departments across the country. Most of the vulnerabilities were critical.

One flaw he uncovered in the voter registration cancellation portal for the state of Georgia, for instance, allowed anyone visiting it to cancel the registration of any voter in that state when the visitor knew the name, birthdate, and county of residence of the voter. In another case, document management systems used in local courthouses across the country contained multiple flaws that allowed unauthorized people to access sensitive filings such as psychiatric evaluations that were under seal. And in one case, unauthorized people could assign themselves privileges that are supposed to be available only to clerks of the court and, from there, create, delete, or modify filings.

Failing at the most fundamental level

It’s hard to overstate the critical role these systems play in the administration of justice, voting rights, and other integral government functions. The number of vulnerabilities—mostly stemming from weak permission controls, poor validation of user inputs, and faulty authentication processes—demonstrate a lack of due care in ensuring the trustworthiness of the systems millions of citizens rely on every day.