(EFFECTIVE-EVOTE) IDI-20230522
Context
At Kuorum, we collaborate with universities and researchers worldwide to drive advancements in the field of cryptography. Below, we provide information on one of these projects, which has been co-funded by CDTI, a public innovation agency.
Objective
The project's primary goal is to develop an innovative cloud-based technological solution tailored to the specific requirements of elections and assemblies in private organizations. These requirements include voter privacy, end-to-end verifiability of cast votes, usability, and the swift availability of final results.
The technological challenge relies in the practical application of cryptographic properties within this new cloud voting framework, ensuring that the remote electronic voting system remains verifiable, private, fast, and adaptable. This adaptability is particularly relevant for union elections, as well as assemblies and elections in other organizations - key segments where Kuorum is focusing its new service offering for online collective decision-making processes.
Timeline and location
The project is being developed in Madrid over an 18-month period, running from April 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.
Funding
The project is co-financed by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with an investment of €441,199.00 and an EU grant of €175,371.00. "Europa se siente".
Results
Thanks to this R&D project, Kuorum now has a high-speed vote ingest and encryption system. In addition, key aspects for the usability of the tool by users of different ages and digital skills have been improved.
Results of milestone 1:
- Comparison of different encryption schemes for use in online voting in cloud environments.
- Selection of optimal encryption for speed while maintaining the highest levels of cybersecurity.
- Definition of architecture components for rapid vote ingestion and real-time presentation of results.
Results of milestone 2:
- Development of new encryption algorithms using the techniques selected in milestone 1 and implementation of systems for end-to-end verifiability in elections and queries.
- Optimization of voting flows for greater usability by voters.
- System validation by end customers in a business environment.
