CHEKIT: Hacking the Papal Election

Some reverently view the election of the new Pope during the current Papal conclave as a holy centuries-old tradition, held sacred in the eyes of a billion Catholics and arguably more important than any other vote held in the last 26 years. If you're Bruce Schneier, however, you're thinking that, as far as vote tabulation goes, the Vatican spanks Katherine Harris' bony ass every time:

How hard is this to hack? The first observation is that the system is entirely manual, making it immune to the sorts of technological attacks that make modern voting systems so risky. The second observation is that the small group of voters -- all of whom know each other -- makes it impossible for an outsider to affect the voting in any way. The chapel is cleared and locked before voting. No one is going to dress up as a cardinal and sneak into the Sistine Chapel. In effect, the voter verification process is about as perfect as you're ever going to find.

By the way - as much mojo as Cardinal Ratzinger's got goin', we here at Dispatches have got our money on someone, clearly, much more qualified - and by qualified, we mean "smokes in public more often."

[The Schneier link via BoingBoing - the picture via Jenny]