Project Proposal : Secure e-voting using Identity Based Encryption System

Abstract

Election of representatives for different bodies of an organization is a very difficult and a rigorous process. In the traditional voting process the voter has to visit the polling station to cast his/her vote. The Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) which are in current use from last few years may also malfunction sometimes during the election process. Hence, to improve the security and the voter turnout, an attempt is made by designing an Internet based secure voting system.

With the easy access of internet, electronic transactions over the Internet have become an integral part of day to day life. The Internet is used for more and more secure transactions like banking, shopping, submitting tax returns etc. Likewise, the demand for a secure Internet based electronic voting system is obvious. The existing Internet based voting system lacks to guarantee both the security and the reliability of the voting process. We present a novel approach to internet voting in elections in context of Nepal. We propose and discuss the design and implementation of secure Internet based voting system using Identity Based Encryption System (IBES). Internet voting system implementing IBES enhances the security of the system as well as the reliability of the voter. It adheres the conventional security criteria such as privacy, anonymity, eligibility, accuracy, fairness, uniqueness and verifiability for the e-voting schemes ultimately increasing voter’s turnout in election.

Our system integrates public key cryptography into web applications without any browser plugins. The public key generated is provided by identity based cryptography, which eliminates the need of public key and certificate online retrieval. Unlike other Internet voting systems, IBES requires only one trusted authority. This eliminates the chances of fraud. The test and evaluation shows that Identity Based Encryption System (IBES) is secure and efficient on theory and practice.