Online voting as an element of cybersecurity of megacities

Abstract

The subject. The author explores the possibility of online voting during the elections from the perspective of urban security.The purpose of the paper is to confirm or disprove hypothesis that introduction of online voting in the elections in large cities contributes to the growth of the electorate’s confidence and reduction of absenteeism, but only if cybersecurity of metropolises is ensured.The methodology of the study includes general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, description) and the method of comparative law.The main results and scope of their application. The very essence of online voting involves the use of a dedicated Internet platform and digital devices. This method has many advantages, including the ability to attract many people, the convenience and reliability of the whole process, as well as the automatic calculation of results. However, the issue of online voting in large cities directly affects the problem of ensuring their cybersecurity. Electronic voting can be subject to certain risks like any Internet procedure. Some of them have their own offline counterparts, such as the sale of votes. Others are unique to the digital environment, such as cyber violations and DDoS-attacks.Conclusions. Electronic voting helps to solve the problem of low voters’ turnout, unites communities, universities, companies and people. This new process must be protected from any potential threats to security.An inefficient voter authentication procedure can adversely affect the reliability of the entire online voting system. Hacking the authentication system can lead to fraud and theft of data and votes. The blockchain system provides effective protection against such hacks and cyberattacks. It would be effective if it was possible to download a special anti-virus program from the election commission website to clean the user's computer from malicious content or at least check the presence of viral content. The license key of such a program may be valid only for the period of the elections. The decision against forcing an electronic vote for a particular candidate can be made by an online voting system that allows you to change your choice several times. We need well-thought-out training and advanced training programmes for state and municipal employees, including programmes for initial technical training, to reduce security risks. It is necessary to train possible users of the online voting system, since the security of a computer or smartphone, the absence of virus programs, as well as the timeliness of voting are in the area of responsibility of online voters. Online voting may not be the only way a voter can express his or her will. It is always necessary to keep the possibility of classical voting by paper ballots.