Scytl Involvement in French and Greek Elections.

The following outlines the involvement of the Spanish company Scytl with French and Greek elections. Scytl will be counting votes in several states for the 2012 Presidential election in the United States.  So if the recent election in France comes into question due to problems with Scytl, it will be of great concern to American citizens.

From Scytl's News, Customers and About pages:

April 12, 2012: New contract with French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Customer Outline pdf)
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently awarded to Scytl a contract to provide the online support to the voters during the next French Parliamentary election.  The support will include an innovative online solution to allow voters to verify the compatibility of their computers with the secure online voting system provided by Scytl (web).  Approximately 1 million French citizens living overseas will be entitled to vote over the Internet with Scytl’s secure online voting platform.

February 13, 2012: Scytl’s e-voting solution presented by French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Edouard Courtial, Secretary of State for the French living abroad, held a press conference on February 10 to present Scytl’s electronic voting solution. Scytl, in alliance with Atos, has been selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior to provide its Internet voting solution in the French national legislative elections of June 2012. In these elections, a total of 1.2 million French citizens in 11 different districts spread over 5 continents will be entitled to vote over the Internet in order to directly elect 11 members of the Assemblée Nationale (French National Parliament). This will be the third election that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs carries out with Scytl’s technology, after the 2009 and 2010 election to the Assemblée des Français de l’Etranger (AFE). The press conference was held at the Quai d’Orsay - Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris in the “Salon de l’Horloge” where Jean Monet and Robert Schuman signed the appeal to create the European Coal and Steel Community.

November 22, 2010: Scytl carries out a new Internet voting election for the French citizens living abroad
Scytl has successfully carried out, with its partner Atos Origin and for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the partial elections to the Overseas French Assembly (AFE) for the districts of Mexico and Washington.  Over 60,000 French citizens were eligible to vote over the Internet from October 6 thru 24 with a significant increase in participation compared to the 2009 election.  This election was conducted though the permanent secure Internet voting platform provided by Scytl to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This platform will be used in the next parliamentary election of 2012 in which for the first time 11 members of the French National Parliament will be elected by the French living abroad.

May 03, 2010: Scytl partners with IRIS to enter the French private sector electoral market
Scytl has recently entered into a new partnership agreement with French company IRIS to enter the French private sector electoral market. Scytl will install a permanent Internet voting platform at IRIS' secure data center and will provide IRIS with training and support services during elections. This permanent Internet voting platform will allow IRIS to offer hybrid (paper and Internet-based) elections services to its customers. IRIS is one of the main actors for paper-based elections in the French private sector electoral market

June 22, 2009: Scytl successfully carries out the Internet voting election for the French living overseas
340,000 French living in Africa, North America and Latin America have been called to participate in the election to the ‘Assemblée des Français de l'Etranger' (AFE) organized by the French Ministry of Foreign Affaires. Approximately 10% of the votes have been cast over the Internet through Scytl' secure Internet voting platform. Total participation has increased by 2.2% over the previous election. Voters have also benefited from an online voter registration system that has remained open during the election. The objective of 24/7 availability for the electronic voting system has been 100% met by Scytl and its partner Atos Origin during the 15 days that the online election has remained open.

May 18, 2009: Scytl successfully passes the audit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France
Scytl's Internet voting platform Pnyx, which will be implemented in the election to the Assembly of the French living Overseas (AFE) in partnership with Atos Origin, has successfully passed the security audit, showing its compliance with the electronic voting requirements of the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL). To conduct this audit, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appointed an independent expertise agency which has been officially authorized as Centre d'Evaluation de la Sécurité des Technologies de l'Information (CESTI) by the Central Information Systems Security Division. This audit has consisted in a thorough analysis of the Pnyx security architecture, cryptographic protocols and source code and of the organizational procedures that will be put in place. Based on the audit report, CNIL has issued a favorable recommendation and the Council of State has approved the decree 2009-525 which authorizes electronic voting in the AFE election. From May 20 to June 4, the French living in Africa and America will be able to cast votes through the Internet from the following site: http://www.afe2009.fr/.

 June 09, 2008: Scytl appoints a new Director of Global Alliances
Eric Elbhar has recently joined Scytl as Director of Global Alliances. In this position, Mr. Elbhar will be responsible for developing and strengthening Scytl's partner network worldwide. Mr. Elbhar has 14 years of international sales and marketing experience in the technology sector in companies such as CDC Corporation, Ross Systems, Selligent and Cap Gemini. Mr. Elbhar is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

On the Technology front, Scytl is making some interesting moves:

May 28, 2012: Scytl sponsors the 18th GCC eGovernment and eServices Conference in Dubai
Scytl has showcased its innovative solutions for e-voting and election management during the 18th GCC eGovernment and eServices Conference that was held on May 19-23 in Dubai (UAE). Pablo Sarrias, VP Sales & Marketing, presented how ICT can enhance good governance in the field of elections, illustrating his points with the presentation of Scytl’s successful implementation of e-voting in the UAE during the 2011 national elections. Marked as the largest eGovernment conference in the world, the "18th GCC eGovernment and eServices Conference" aims to encourage innovation and elevate the standards of implementing a strong eGovernment framework in paving the way forward to global competitiveness. This conference was organized by Datamatix Group in cooperation with the eGovernment Institute.

May 21, 2012:  Scytl participates in leading EU-funded R&D project on electronic ID (Stork 2.0)
Scytl has been selected by the European Union as one of the official partners of STORK 2.0 (Secure idenTity acrOss boRders linKed 2.0), a major three-year project aimed at facilitating the creation and take-up of a single interoperable and sustainable electronic identification (eID) authentication area in Europe. Bringing together 58 consortium partners and 19 countries, the initiative will drive convergence between the private and public sector, at national and EU levels, for secure and easy access to cross-border public services using eID credentials. Identity management is a cornerstone of Scytl’s approach to ensuring free and fair elections and the participation to this major scale project will reinforce Scytl’s position as a pioneer in the research and development of secure and innovative solutions for elections.

May 14, 2012:  Scytl Unveils Secure Online Voting on Google Android and Apple iOS Devices (See our report on this issue)
Scytl has successfully implemented its online voting encryption technology on Google Android™ and Apple® iOS smartphones and tablet computers. By encrypting the ballot on the voter’s device before it is cast, Scytl is now able to guarantee end-to-end security - from the voter to the final tally - not only for computer-based online voting but also for mobile voting, setting a new milestone in the field of mobile election software security.

Reported by Yahoo Finance:

Innovative BALLOTsafe Technology from Scytl and ES&S Revolutionizes Voting Process for Mississippi’s Military and Overseas Voters During March 2012 Primary

In addition to the deployment of Scytl’s technology in the United States, the company’s secure election solutions have been used in public elections by governments in the countries of the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, India and Australia.