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How Votem Intends to Democratize Democracy Through Blockchain Technology

Electronic voting is by no means new. In one way or another, non-paper-ballot voting has been going on for decades. It should surprise no one that there have been instances of severe security breaches in more than one jurisdiction. The HBO documentary “Hacking Democracy” covers this in detail. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts know there is a good solution to the problem of compromised electronic voting. The ledger that underpins Bitcoin, the blockchain, is perhaps the most secure design ever seen. Pete Martin, founder and CEO of  Votem , a veteran of SAP consulting, went to a business conference a few years ago in which the speaker challenged his audience to come up with an idea that would positively impact 1 billion people. “I sold my consulting business and was seriously thinking about getting into state politics,” he stated in interview to CCN. “A lot of people around me said, you know, at the end of the day, Pete, you’re an entrepreneur, you’re not a politician. So, you know, if th...

Russia hacked the US election. Now it’s coming for western democracy

Vladimir Putin wants to extend his influence beyond the ballot box and into the very fabric of our public life. We must take action before it’s too late  Illustration by Sébastien Thibault The Russian  hacking of the Democratic National Committee  (DNC) and members of Hillary Clinton’s campaign is being treated too much like a novelty and not enough as a serious and persistent security threat. The problem becomes more urgent as we see it spread to other countries. WikiLeaks, which disseminated stolen DNC documents, announced last week that it would turn its attention to France, and has released material relating to presidential candidates  François Fillon  and Emmanuel Macron, opponents of Marine Le Pen. US intelligence agencies found  clear linkge between Wikileaks and the Russian state; we have to assume Russia will use these to undermine Vladimir Putin’s arch-nemesis, Angela Merkel, when she faces the far-right Alternative für Deutschland at the poll...