EVMs can’t be hacked like pagers used for blasts:ECI chief

North News

New Delhi, October 15

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday said that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) cannot be hacked because they are not connected to any external devices, unlike pagers, which have been linked to recent bomb blasts in the Middle East. “EVMs can’t be hacked like pagers used for blasts. We are asked if EVMs can be hacked like pagers that were used in some regions. The difference is EVMs are not connected like pagers,” Kumar clarified while announcing the election dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar addressed concerns raised by Congress leader Rashid Alvi, who had expressed skepticism about EVM security. Alvi questioned, “If Israel can allegedly target individuals using pagers and walkie-talkies, what does that imply for the security of EVMs?”

The Election Commission has consistently maintained that EVMs, used for voting in elections, are secure and cannot be hacked or tampered with, as they do not require electricity to operate. Kumar reiterated that while pagers can be tampered with due to their connectivity, EVMs remain impervious to hacking due to their design.