Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Elon Musk's EVM Hacking Claims, Says 'We Can Agree to Disagree’

Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has openly questioned tech entrepreneur Elon Musk's recent comments about the security of electronic voting machines (EVMs). Musk had suggested eliminating EVMs because of worries about possible hacking. Chandrasekhar, however, refuted these statements, describing them as a "huge sweeping generalisation" without context and defended the robust security of India's specially designed EVMs.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar Defends Indian EVMs

Elon Musk's Concerns

Elon Musk, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), expressed doubts about the security of electronic voting machines. He suggested that even a minimal risk of hacking, whether by humans or AI, warrants their elimination. This statement sparked a heated debate, with various political figures and experts weighing in on the matter.

Chandrasekhar's Rebuttal

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who served as Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, countered Musk's concerns by emphasizing the unique security features of Indian EVMs. Unlike some regions where voting machines are internet-connected and built on standard computing platforms, Indian EVMs are custom-designed, secure, and completely isolated from any network or media.

Chandrasekhar tweeted, "This is a huge sweeping generalization statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware. Wrong. @elonmusk's view may apply to US n other places - where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet connected Voting machines. But Indian EVMs are custom designed, secure and isolated from any network or media - No connectivity, no bluetooth, wifi, Internet. ie there is no way in. Factory programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed."

Chandrasekhar even offered to provide a tutorial to the SpaceX boss, demonstrating the robustness and security of Indian EVMs. "Electronic voting machines can be architected and built right as India has done. We wud be happy to run a tutorial Elon," he said.

Elon Musk's Response

In response to Chandrasekhar's detailed explanation, Musk replied with a succinct, "Anything can be hacked." This prompted Chandrasekhar to acknowledge the theoretical possibility while emphasizing the practical security of Indian EVMs. He stated, "Technically ur right - anything is possible E.g..wth quantum compute, i can decrypt any level of encryption, with lab level tech n plenty of resources, i can hack any digital hardware/system incldng flight controls of a glass cockpit of a jet etc etc. But thats a different type of a conversatn from EVMs being secure n reliable vis a vis paper voting. And we can agree to disagree."

Rahul Gandhi Supports Musk's View

Congress MP Rahul Gnadhi also weighed in, echoing Musk's concerns. Gandhi expressed doubts about the election's transparency and called Indian EVMs a "black box".

In a post on X, he said, "EVMs in India are a 'black box,' and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them. Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability."

BJP's Amit Malviya Challenges Musk

Amid the ongoing controversy, BJP IT Cell in-charge Amit Malviya issued a challenge to Elon Musk, inviting him to test the security of Indian EVMs. Malviya also criticized Rahul Gandhi for questioning Indian democracy in front of Musk.

"Elon Musk or whoever else thinks they can hack the EVM should approach the Election Commission of India and take a shot at it. But why is Rahul Gandhi complaining about Indian democracy to Musk? What can Musk do? Or is crying before the world and demeaning India part of Congress’s DNA? We just had an election and people of India rejected this dynast for a third time in row. But he still does not get it," tweeted Malviya.

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