Inspired by online security technologies provided by banks, researchers from the University of Birmingham in the U.K. have come up with a new and effective way that can potentially secure the processes of online voting systems.

The researchers have developed a technique that enables people to vote online regardless whether their computers have been infected by viruses or not.

Like Us on Facebook

The new technique uses standalone or independent hardware devices called "Du-Vote", alongside personal computers, to bypass and detect viruses and malwares.

With this approach, voters simply receive codes on these credit card-sized devices and input them back into their personal computers.

Professor Mark Ryan of the University of Birmingham and head of the research team said, "This system works by employing a credit card-sized device similar to those used in online banking."

"It is called Du-Vote, and we have been developing it over the past two years. From the voter's perspective, it's straightforward: you receive a code on the device and type it back into the computer."

Ryan added that the primary advantage of this new system is its ability to divide the security function between the standalone device and a voter's personal computer.

"A computer is a hugely powerful, all-purpose machine running billions of lines of code that no one really understands, whereas the independent security device has a much, much smaller code base and is not susceptible to viruses." said Ryan.

The new system could provide new solutions to the risks of electronic voting (e-voting) systems. It is said that malware affects nearly 20 to 40 per cent of personal computers worldwide.

With the rise of mass surveillance activities being carried out by intelligence agencies, other researchers have also began to look for new ways to protect private information.

Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology (SIT) in Germany have approached this challenge by developing an open-source encryption software designed to help businsses and ordinary users alike, to protect sensetive information using encryption.

TagsOnline Voting, University of Birmingham, Du-Vote, Personal Computer, Security Technology, online