ITU researcher shows how to hack the Emmy Awards on a popular American TV show

Carsten Schürmann, associate professor and election security expert, demonstrated how to manipulate the result of the Emmy awards in an interview with Nathan Fielder, the host of the popular TV show, Nathan For You, which is pre-nominated for an award.

Carsten SchürmannComputer Science DepartmentResearchIT security

Written 12 June, 2018 10:20 by Jari Kickbusch

The annual Emmy Award show, where the winners of the American TV industry’s prestigious award are annouced, is a huge event inside and outside the U.S. Before the show takes place, members of the American Television Academy vote for their favorite shows, actors etc. They do that using an internet-based election system. But can we trust that the announced winners reflect the intention of the voters? No, associate professor and election security expert at the IT University of Copenhagen, Carsten Schürmann said in an interview with Nathan Fielder:

- It is extremely unlikely that you can have 100% trust in the outcome of the vote,” he says in the interview. 

Nathan Fielder is hosting the TV show Nathan For You, which is pre-nominated for an Emmy award. During the interview the controversial host unsuccessfully tries to hide his hope, that the voting system would be hacked to his advantage. Immediately after the release, the interview got a lot of attention on social media as well as the established American press.

- As a scientist, it has been an exciting challenge to discuss election security with such a gifted comedian on his show. They flew me to Hollywood for the interview. It was great fun to work in an environment that is so different from academia, says Carsten Schürmann.

Further information

Jari Kickbusch, phone 7218 5304, email jark@itu.dk