Apple · Tesla · Ars Technica
Canadian election databases tap "canary traps"—and they work
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In a world awash in high-tech security tools like passkeys, quantum-safe algorithms, and public-key cryptography, it can be refreshing to get back to the simple things… like a good old-fashioned canary trap.
Key facts
- Elections Alberta quickly investigated and announced that the list used by Centurion was a copy of one legitimately released to the Republican Party of Alberta
- Ars Technica’s own Clancy aficionado, Lee Hutchinson, tracked down his copy of the book and found the passage in which protagonist Jack Ryan explains the term after an admiral asks him, “What the devil is this Canary Trap
- Despite this, The Centurion Project, described by the CBC as a “separatist group,” used the list to power an online database of voters
- The fake entries inserted in the Republican Party version of the list showed up in Centurion’s online tool, too
Summary
The canary trap is a simple tool often used to identify leakers or double agents. You don’t often see canary traps in the news, though they have long been a staple of spy fiction (and practice), so an account out of Canada last week caught their eye. The Canadian province of Alberta has been the site of recent drama around its electoral list, a database that contains information such as names, addresses, and voting districts for millions of citizens. Despite this, The Centurion Project, described by the CBC as a “separatist group,” used the list to power an online database of voters.