Richard DeMillo
@demillo.com
Computer science professor, cybersecurity researcher, grandfather, Ducati rider. Studies software engineering, algorithms, election technology and security. Working well past retirement age by choice.
Pinned
Richard DeMillo
@demillo.com
· Dec 7
Like & share this Bsky feed for serious topics related to election security & integrity , voting tech and assurance. Not for denialism or conspiracies. Not a perfect filter though. Algorithm is public feel free to improve.
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bsky.app/profile/did:...
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bsky.app/profile/did:...
Overheard: “I know what would be fun: let’s crank up forces acting on US government and simultaneously remove the controls that dampen the growth of destructive vibrations just to see what happens.”
Sometimes you don’t need to run the experiment.
t.co/EuS4pml5u6
Sometimes you don’t need to run the experiment.
t.co/EuS4pml5u6
https://youtu.be/XggxeuFDaDU
t.co
June 11, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Overheard: “I know what would be fun: let’s crank up forces acting on US government and simultaneously remove the controls that dampen the growth of destructive vibrations just to see what happens.”
Sometimes you don’t need to run the experiment.
t.co/EuS4pml5u6
Sometimes you don’t need to run the experiment.
t.co/EuS4pml5u6
1/🚨 BIG RULING IN GA VOTING MACHINE LAWSUIT
A judge dismissed the challenge to Georgia’s QR-code voting machines—not because they’re secure, but because no one could prove legal harm.
QR codes stay (for now). The lawsuit lost—but still helped change the law.
#VotingRights #SeriousElections
A judge dismissed the challenge to Georgia’s QR-code voting machines—not because they’re secure, but because no one could prove legal harm.
QR codes stay (for now). The lawsuit lost—but still helped change the law.
#VotingRights #SeriousElections
April 1, 2025 at 2:56 PM
1/🚨 BIG RULING IN GA VOTING MACHINE LAWSUIT
A judge dismissed the challenge to Georgia’s QR-code voting machines—not because they’re secure, but because no one could prove legal harm.
QR codes stay (for now). The lawsuit lost—but still helped change the law.
#VotingRights #SeriousElections
A judge dismissed the challenge to Georgia’s QR-code voting machines—not because they’re secure, but because no one could prove legal harm.
QR codes stay (for now). The lawsuit lost—but still helped change the law.
#VotingRights #SeriousElections
Well this is enough to break your heart: “Trump complains Americans left valuable equipment behind when they left Afghanistan…Well he’s about to leave another valuable investment behind: our minds, paid for by the American people.” |Afghan Students Abandoned
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/w...
‘They Will Label Us as Spies’: The Afghan Students Abandoned by America
Students at the American University of Afghanistan in Qatar fear having to return to their Taliban-ruled homeland after aid and visa cutoffs by the Trump administration.
www.nytimes.com
March 30, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Well this is enough to break your heart: “Trump complains Americans left valuable equipment behind when they left Afghanistan…Well he’s about to leave another valuable investment behind: our minds, paid for by the American people.” |Afghan Students Abandoned
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/w...
Reposted by Richard DeMillo
Big day for the WITAOD movement
NEW: Judge Chutkan GRANTS a request for discovery in the case brought by state AGs alleging that the conduct of Musk and DOGE violates the Appointments Clause.
The permitted discovery includes documents and interrogatories related to the scope of Musk/DOGE's authority.
The permitted discovery includes documents and interrogatories related to the scope of Musk/DOGE's authority.
March 12, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Big day for the WITAOD movement
For a bunch of guys obsessed with showing street cred, this has to be the most embarrassing unforced error in memory. Chainsaw Al's destructive legacy was a colossal series of train wrecks. Chainsaw Elon is heading down that path with arrogance and ignorance. Why haven't sane R's stepped in
March 6, 2025 at 12:48 PM
For a bunch of guys obsessed with showing street cred, this has to be the most embarrassing unforced error in memory. Chainsaw Al's destructive legacy was a colossal series of train wrecks. Chainsaw Elon is heading down that path with arrogance and ignorance. Why haven't sane R's stepped in
Dems stunned only bc they treated threat warnings from election security experts w derision.
“Mr. Musk’s stealth approach stunned both Democrats and civil servants. Failing to imagine an incursion from inside the bureaucracy, they were caught essentially defenseless.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/u...
“Mr. Musk’s stealth approach stunned both Democrats and civil servants. Failing to imagine an incursion from inside the bureaucracy, they were caught essentially defenseless.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/u...
How Elon Musk Executed His Takeover of the Federal Bureaucracy
The operation was driven with a frenetic focus by the billionaire, who channeled his resentment of regulatory oversight into a drastic overhaul of government agencies.
www.nytimes.com
March 2, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Dems stunned only bc they treated threat warnings from election security experts w derision.
“Mr. Musk’s stealth approach stunned both Democrats and civil servants. Failing to imagine an incursion from inside the bureaucracy, they were caught essentially defenseless.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/u...
“Mr. Musk’s stealth approach stunned both Democrats and civil servants. Failing to imagine an incursion from inside the bureaucracy, they were caught essentially defenseless.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/u...
#SeriousElections Insider attacks now launched in full view.
DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure …
CISA helps state and local election offices assess vulnerabilities.
DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure …
CISA helps state and local election offices assess vulnerabilities.
February 22, 2025 at 1:34 PM
#SeriousElections Insider attacks now launched in full view.
DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure …
CISA helps state and local election offices assess vulnerabilities.
DOGE technologists Edward Coristine—the 19-year-old known online as “Big Balls”—and Kyle Schutt are now listed as staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure …
CISA helps state and local election offices assess vulnerabilities.
Reposted by Richard DeMillo
Apple has officially pulled E2EE backup in the UK in response to a secret (leaked) order.
This will make users less secure, chill business adoption of E2EE, and embolden other governments that do not respect the rule of law to do the same.
Awful news.
www.macrumors.com/2025/02/21/a...
This will make users less secure, chill business adoption of E2EE, and embolden other governments that do not respect the rule of law to do the same.
Awful news.
www.macrumors.com/2025/02/21/a...
Apple Pulls Encrypted iCloud Security Feature in UK Amid Government Backdoor Demands
Apple has withdrawn its Advanced Data Protection iCloud feature from the United Kingdom following government demands for backdoor access to encrypted...
www.macrumors.com
February 21, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Apple has officially pulled E2EE backup in the UK in response to a secret (leaked) order.
This will make users less secure, chill business adoption of E2EE, and embolden other governments that do not respect the rule of law to do the same.
Awful news.
www.macrumors.com/2025/02/21/a...
This will make users less secure, chill business adoption of E2EE, and embolden other governments that do not respect the rule of law to do the same.
Awful news.
www.macrumors.com/2025/02/21/a...
“[DOGE] has trained its initial attention on executing Musk’s belief that by controlling the computers, one could control the entire federal bureaucracy.”
My biggest fear is these guys are coders & Easter eggs will remain undetected.
This Is What Happens When the DOGE Guys Take Over - The Atlantic
My biggest fear is these guys are coders & Easter eggs will remain undetected.
This Is What Happens When the DOGE Guys Take Over - The Atlantic
February 22, 2025 at 11:41 AM
“[DOGE] has trained its initial attention on executing Musk’s belief that by controlling the computers, one could control the entire federal bureaucracy.”
My biggest fear is these guys are coders & Easter eggs will remain undetected.
This Is What Happens When the DOGE Guys Take Over - The Atlantic
My biggest fear is these guys are coders & Easter eggs will remain undetected.
This Is What Happens When the DOGE Guys Take Over - The Atlantic
Long-running challenge to constutionality of touchscren voting machine filed when GA scrapped Diebold touchscreen machines, declared unconstitutional by the same federal judge. Action then switched to Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) that GA wanted instead. #SeriousElections bsky.app/profile/demi...
It’s been a year since closing arguments in Curling v Raffensperger challenging the constitutionality of mandatory use Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) in GA; case resting in
part on lack of accountability as shown below. Still no decision but I will post trial hilites in coming days #SeriousElections
part on lack of accountability as shown below. Still no decision but I will post trial hilites in coming days #SeriousElections
February 17, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Long-running challenge to constutionality of touchscren voting machine filed when GA scrapped Diebold touchscreen machines, declared unconstitutional by the same federal judge. Action then switched to Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) that GA wanted instead. #SeriousElections bsky.app/profile/demi...
DANGER!
Hidden from view: DOGE will replace “inefficient systems” with opaque, untrustworthy software written by unaccountable entities. This is Madison’s nightmare scenario for empowering factions. Just look at election systems and HAVA to see where it’s heading. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/u...
Hidden from view: DOGE will replace “inefficient systems” with opaque, untrustworthy software written by unaccountable entities. This is Madison’s nightmare scenario for empowering factions. Just look at election systems and HAVA to see where it’s heading. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/u...
Enjoying the Pinnacle of Power, Musk Holds Court on Trump’s Stage
The president let the spotlight in the Oval Office go to his billionaire friend/budget slasher, who cited blank checks and 150-year-old Social Security beneficiaries to justify purging the federal wor...
www.nytimes.com
February 12, 2025 at 1:20 PM
DANGER!
Hidden from view: DOGE will replace “inefficient systems” with opaque, untrustworthy software written by unaccountable entities. This is Madison’s nightmare scenario for empowering factions. Just look at election systems and HAVA to see where it’s heading. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/u...
Hidden from view: DOGE will replace “inefficient systems” with opaque, untrustworthy software written by unaccountable entities. This is Madison’s nightmare scenario for empowering factions. Just look at election systems and HAVA to see where it’s heading. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/u...
“The real lesson of DeepSeek is that America’s approach to A.I. regulations was nonsense. It was never going to be possible to contain the spread of this powerful emergent technology.That was a self-serving fiction, foisted by an industry to kneecap competitors.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/o...
Opinion | The Dangerous A.I. Nonsense That Trump and Biden Fell For
This is not a Sputnik moment. It’s way past that.
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2025 at 3:25 PM
“The real lesson of DeepSeek is that America’s approach to A.I. regulations was nonsense. It was never going to be possible to contain the spread of this powerful emergent technology.That was a self-serving fiction, foisted by an industry to kneecap competitors.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/o...
Brilliant: what is the most successful venture capital firm in history? Founded in 1776 by General Partners Washington, Jefferson, Madison, headquartered in a Beaux Arts corporate campus in DC, this firm is the world’s premier funder of technological and commercial innovation. Let’s not break it.
February 7, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Brilliant: what is the most successful venture capital firm in history? Founded in 1776 by General Partners Washington, Jefferson, Madison, headquartered in a Beaux Arts corporate campus in DC, this firm is the world’s premier funder of technological and commercial innovation. Let’s not break it.
Reposted by Richard DeMillo
Recently our very own Associate Professor Saman Zonouz was a part of a panel on whether smart #technology increases the risk of #cyberattacks!
Interested in learning more?
lnkd.in/gMJ3iEJZ #togetherwecompute
Interested in learning more?
lnkd.in/gMJ3iEJZ #togetherwecompute
Cybersecurity Panel: Is Smart Technology Increasing Your Risk for Cyber Attacks?
Cybersecurity issues extend far beyond phishing attacks. As smart technology continues to grow and improve business operations, daily activities, and education, it also presents significant risks to o...
pe.gatech.edu
February 6, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Recently our very own Associate Professor Saman Zonouz was a part of a panel on whether smart #technology increases the risk of #cyberattacks!
Interested in learning more?
lnkd.in/gMJ3iEJZ #togetherwecompute
Interested in learning more?
lnkd.in/gMJ3iEJZ #togetherwecompute
My talk about the roots of distrust in American elections posted today: scp.cc.gatech.edu/richard-demi...
I hope you find it provocative and relevant to the times we are living through. #SeriousElections
I hope you find it provocative and relevant to the times we are living through. #SeriousElections
Richard DeMillo: Roots of Distrust: Modern Technology and the Impact of a 19th Century Voter Suppression Plan | School of Cybersecurity and Privacy
scp.cc.gatech.edu
February 6, 2025 at 11:13 PM
My talk about the roots of distrust in American elections posted today: scp.cc.gatech.edu/richard-demi...
I hope you find it provocative and relevant to the times we are living through. #SeriousElections
I hope you find it provocative and relevant to the times we are living through. #SeriousElections
Transform Gaza to Riviera? Sure thing. DJT even has the plans. All he has to do is use his Sharpie to cross out “Atlantic City” and replace with “Gaza.” Didn’t that turn out well?
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/u...
An Unbound Trump Pushes an Improbable Plan for Gaza
Once a critic of nation building, the president now envisions taking over a Middle East enclave, driving out its Palestinian population and transforming it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Transform Gaza to Riviera? Sure thing. DJT even has the plans. All he has to do is use his Sharpie to cross out “Atlantic City” and replace with “Gaza.” Didn’t that turn out well?
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/u...
Reposted by Richard DeMillo
2 insurrections, same President.
February 4, 2025 at 9:31 PM
2 insurrections, same President.
The bad news is that the official party’s influence is so meager, in part because the party has largely ceded it to a collection of progressive activist groups.
February 3, 2025 at 12:47 PM
The bad news is that the official party’s influence is so meager, in part because the party has largely ceded it to a collection of progressive activist groups.
DNC meetings include multiple shrieking interruptions, and affirmation that its strategy had been sound. The good news for those preferring a viable alternative to the current personality cult is it has little power.
https ://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/dnc-meeting/681548/
https ://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/dnc-meeting/681548/
The Democrats Show Why They Lost
At a meeting of the DNC, the party seemed to be at pains to demonstrate that it learned nothing from its 2024 defeat.
www.theatlantic.com
February 3, 2025 at 12:46 PM
DNC meetings include multiple shrieking interruptions, and affirmation that its strategy had been sound. The good news for those preferring a viable alternative to the current personality cult is it has little power.
https ://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/dnc-meeting/681548/
https ://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/dnc-meeting/681548/
Here’s something to take your mind off important matters like who got snubbed in the Oscar nominations. Maybe we should make sure DJT doesn’t accidentally fire scientists tracking Asteroid 2024 YR24 which may be on a collision path with earth.
#Science
www.scientificamerican.com/article/will...
#Science
www.scientificamerican.com/article/will...
This Asteroid Probably Won’t Hit Earth—But We May Need to Assume It Will
The possibility of the asteroid 2024 YR4 impacting our planet might not be ruled out until 2028, raising the prospect we’ll need to prepare for the worst
www.scientificamerican.com
February 1, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Here’s something to take your mind off important matters like who got snubbed in the Oscar nominations. Maybe we should make sure DJT doesn’t accidentally fire scientists tracking Asteroid 2024 YR24 which may be on a collision path with earth.
#Science
www.scientificamerican.com/article/will...
#Science
www.scientificamerican.com/article/will...
It’s been a year since closing arguments in Curling v Raffensperger challenging the constitutionality of mandatory use Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) in GA; case resting in
part on lack of accountability as shown below. Still no decision but I will post trial hilites in coming days #SeriousElections
part on lack of accountability as shown below. Still no decision but I will post trial hilites in coming days #SeriousElections
February 1, 2025 at 5:06 AM
It’s been a year since closing arguments in Curling v Raffensperger challenging the constitutionality of mandatory use Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) in GA; case resting in
part on lack of accountability as shown below. Still no decision but I will post trial hilites in coming days #SeriousElections
part on lack of accountability as shown below. Still no decision but I will post trial hilites in coming days #SeriousElections
Deepseek breakthrough (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJvS...) impressive (ref groupthink rampant in SiValley) but it should not be a thunderbolt to anyone familiar with late Gordon Bell’s law predicting efficiency gains by interleaving hw advances and sw innovation. #Science
rjlipton.com/2024/07/08/g...
rjlipton.com/2024/07/08/g...
Gordon Bell
Sadly Gordon Bell died May 17 at the age of 89, see this. Bell died in Coronado, California from pneumonia. He was a true visionary in the world of computing who helped design some of the first min…
rjlipton.com
January 28, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Deepseek breakthrough (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJvS...) impressive (ref groupthink rampant in SiValley) but it should not be a thunderbolt to anyone familiar with late Gordon Bell’s law predicting efficiency gains by interleaving hw advances and sw innovation. #Science
rjlipton.com/2024/07/08/g...
rjlipton.com/2024/07/08/g...
Here’s where social media stands today:
1. X’s algorithms favor Musk/right leaning, divisive and aggressive content
2. Meta is not moderating content and Z is pouring $$ into DJT inaugural (see 1)
3. WaPo editorial content sees no reason to upset DJT. Bezos pours $$ into inaugural (see 1)
4. Now👇👇👇
1. X’s algorithms favor Musk/right leaning, divisive and aggressive content
2. Meta is not moderating content and Z is pouring $$ into DJT inaugural (see 1)
3. WaPo editorial content sees no reason to upset DJT. Bezos pours $$ into inaugural (see 1)
4. Now👇👇👇
January 20, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Here’s where social media stands today:
1. X’s algorithms favor Musk/right leaning, divisive and aggressive content
2. Meta is not moderating content and Z is pouring $$ into DJT inaugural (see 1)
3. WaPo editorial content sees no reason to upset DJT. Bezos pours $$ into inaugural (see 1)
4. Now👇👇👇
1. X’s algorithms favor Musk/right leaning, divisive and aggressive content
2. Meta is not moderating content and Z is pouring $$ into DJT inaugural (see 1)
3. WaPo editorial content sees no reason to upset DJT. Bezos pours $$ into inaugural (see 1)
4. Now👇👇👇
Well this is enough to give you nightmares: “The big joke on democracy,” he observed, “is that it gives its mortal enemies the means to its own destruction.”|How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days
apple.news/Ageef1_SCRqO...
apple.news/Ageef1_SCRqO...
How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days — The Atlantic
He used the constitution to shatter the constitution. January 08, 2025 Ninety-two years ago this month , on Monday morning, January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed the 15th chancellor of the Weim...
apple.news
January 19, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Well this is enough to give you nightmares: “The big joke on democracy,” he observed, “is that it gives its mortal enemies the means to its own destruction.”|How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days
apple.news/Ageef1_SCRqO...
apple.news/Ageef1_SCRqO...
Mourning loss of TikTok this morning? RedNote apparently scratches the itch to scroll but alas seems even more problematical. The rush to this app is an example of the “media substitution hypothesis,” in which people fill a media void.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...
Why Are U.S. TikTok Users Signing Up for RedNote?
Thousands of U.S. TikTok users are joining China-based app RedNote, spawning memes, jokes and confusion
www.scientificamerican.com
January 19, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Mourning loss of TikTok this morning? RedNote apparently scratches the itch to scroll but alas seems even more problematical. The rush to this app is an example of the “media substitution hypothesis,” in which people fill a media void.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...